Xbox’s excellent arcade racer Forza Horizon 5 is coming to PS5 on 29th April, it’s been confirmed, narrowing down the spring release window that was previously revealed.
This will also come alongside an update for the game on Xbox and PC that introduces the Horizon Realms
The PS5 release of Forza Horizon 5 will come in multiple editions, and with early access for pre-orders starting on 25th April. As with Xbox Series X, the PS5 will have a 60fps Performance and 30fps Quality mode. PS5 Pro will also have the same frame rate targets, but Performance mode will have increased visual fidelity, while PS5 Pro Quality mode will add ray-traced car reflections to races and free roam – these are otherwise limited to photo modes.
Horizon Realms will adapt the previously time-limited events from the Evolving World update, bringing back 11 locations and adding one more. These include:
- Stunt Park
- Ice Rink
- Oval Track
- Summer Party
- Neon Airstrip
- Día de Muertos
- Winter Wonderland
- Lunar Drift Arena
- Retrowave Highway
- Cars and Coffee
- Stadium Maze
- Horizon Stadium Circuit (new)
These can all be played in either Skill Score, which has you try to bank enough points to climb a leaderboard, or Free mode, which is all just about messing around and earning Badges.
It’s still a bit weird seeing Xbox first party exclusives popping up on PlayStation, but here we are. They even have their trailers appear on the PlayStation YouTube channel these days!
The port is being developed by Panic Button in collaboration with Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games, and will be like-for-like in terms of content with all the previously released car pack, and the Hot Wheels and Rally Adventure expansions also available.
This follows on from comments by Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who said in the last few weeks that “To keep games off other platforms… it’s not a path for us.” This certainly tied in with the latest rumours that had other core Xbox franchises like Halo, Gears of War and Microsoft Flight Simulator potentially coming to PlayStation, and with Bethesda’s Doom: The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones, and Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds 2 already confirmed.
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest in Playground Games’ spectacular open world arcade racing spin-off to the main Forza Motorsport series. Where previous games took us to Australia and the UK, Forza Horizon 5 takes players to a gorgeous approximation of Mexico, really showcasing the variety of environments that you can find in the country.
Originally released in late 2021 across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC, the game set records for Xbox Game Pass at the time. It’s over three years old now, and has had countless updates, car packs and a pair of great expansions as well. PlayStation 5 owners are in for a treat when it arrives.
In our Forza Horizon 5 review, we scored the sequel a sublime 9 out of 10 with Dom saying, “Forza Horizon 5 continues the series’ legacy, usurping Forza Horizon 4 as the new pinnacle of open-world racing and as a graphical showcase for the new generation of Xbox console.”
Source: Forza.net
