Forza Horizon 5 Getting Progression Overhaul This Week

While I’m a big fan of the Forza experience, I must admit I found Forza Horizon 5 got a bit boring way faster than I would have liked. Perhaps the overwhelming in-your-face voice acted “everything is awesome” storyline when I’m pushing 40 and just want to race some cars… or that the game is always jumping from one thing to the next too quickly, but maybe that’s me. I recently uninstalled the game and went back to Forza Motorsport 5, and I must admit, I’m much happier there.

In notes for a patch to Forza Horizon 5, however, it seems that developer Playground Games are making some significant changes to the game’s competitive multiplayer mode. That means big changes to the progression system, as the two are strongly tied together. It’s going to change the overall experience quite a lot, and I think it could be for the better.

Forza Horizon 5

Also announced, a new Horizon Open mode, which will give players more control over the which kind of races they compete in. A key factor is “Custom Racing” which will “allow players to find races for their chosen race discipline and PI [performance index] class,” at least, according to the notes.

That means you can really enjoy the game more your own way, but at the same time, it’ll nudge you to broaden your options a bit to earn more progression. With such a stunning open world, these tweaks to the social elements should help change up the experience and hopefully make it feel more focused and less like a jumbled free-for-all.

Of course, like any good patch, there’s a load of stability and performance improvements. EventLab Creations will also include gravity manipulation… which could get messy.

We’re constantly working to improve the experience in Forza Horizon 5. Below you will find a summary of items fixed or improved upon in this update.

Version Number:

• Xbox One: 2.443.870.0
• Xbox Series: 3.443.870.0
• PC: 3.443.870.0
• Steam: 1.443.870.0

General

• Stability and Performance improvements
• Improved save flow for Weekly Forzathon to reduce chances of any progression loss
• Updated string for Car Voucher to be more specific about what its function is
• Updated Seasonal Event map pins to match the Seasonal PR Stunt pin
• Fixed issue where brake calipers were getting left behind from the car when changing Tunes in Freeroam
• Added HUD for cars with Race Mode type functionality to support the new Drivetrain swap mode on the Ford Mustang Mach-E
• Added low-res mesh under the world to improve the visuals when world chunks dropped out at high altitudes such as when using the new Gravity Action in EventLab (Series X/S and PC only)
• Re-tuned the dirty air aerodynamic effect: the change reduces the amount of total downforce lost due to dirty air and improves the total aerodynamic balance distribution when following closely another car. This effect is more noticeable when driving very fast with cars that produce a sizeable amount of downforce

Online

• Horizon Open has been updated with a new progression system including Badges which can be unlocked through gameplay
• Added Custom Racing to Horizon Open, which will allow players to find races for their chosen race discipline and PI class
• Fixed some scenarios where the player could be left waiting longer than necessary in the post-race flow

PC

• Fixed an issue where distant trees could look black or very dark on Very Low Preset
• Fixed Crash that occurred in Livery Editor when Ray Tracing was on

Cars

• Fixed dent in Jaguar XJS220s
• Fixed brake callipers being incorrectly offset on the 2014 VW Golf R
• Roll cage was incorrectly being added to the Sports Chassis reinforcement instead of the Race Chassis reinforcement on the 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4
• Fixed issue where one of the rear brake callipers on the 2020 Lamborghini Hurácan Evo wasn’t paintable
• Fixed issue where passenger side rear brake calliper wasn’t paintable on the 2010 Lexus LFA
• Fixed livery mapping issue with the 2018 KTM X-Bow in low LOD
• Fixed quiet superchargers on some muscle cars, in particular Dodge
• Fixed the 2012 Gallardo LP570-4 Spyder Performante hood not matching the selected colour
• Fixed broken mesh on the Work Emotion 11R Rims
• Fixed the Work Emotion M8R Rims not looking correct with certain paint options
• Fixed the shift animation on the 1968 Renault 4L

EventLab

• Added Gravity Action to Rules of Play which allows players to manipulate Gravity in EventLab creations
• Added option to preview sounds
• When using manual gears, moved Blueprint Builder off the View button to the Route Options menu as it was conflicting with Place Checkpoint
• Fixed issue where players could get soft locked after an event and loading back to Freeroam
• Fixed an issue where playing your own EventLab creation after publishing, could sometimes cause it to load without props

Accolades

• Fixed issue with “The Completionist” Accolade not unlocking under the right conditions
• Fixed description of “Showpiece” Accolade