Forza Horizon 5 is overhauling competitive multiplayer

News
By published

Horizon Open will have new ranked progression systems and more

Forza Horizon 5 2022 new year accolades Guanajuato lanterns
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Forza Horizon 5 is getting a major multiplayer shake up tomorrow.

Announced last week via the official Forza Horizon 5 website, a new update will be dropping for Playground's racing game tomorrow on March 29. The game's competitive multiplayer mode, known as Horizon Open, will have a brand new progression system complete with special badges that players can earn and show off to proclaim their prowess.

Additionally, Horizon Open is getting a brand new Custom Racing mode. In short, this mode is going to give players far greater control over the races they partake in while playing Horizon Open, so you could search for a road race using S1-tier cars only, or an entirely off-road race.

Elsewhere, there's a slate of performance and stability improvements coming to Forza Horizon 5 across PC and Xbox consoles alike. Finally, races created through Event Labs will actually be able to manipulate gravity, potentially sending cars flying off into the stratosphere or superglued to the ground throughout entire courses.

Forza Horizon 5 has seen a pretty steady stream of updates and improvements since it launched last December, and this is just the latest. Earlier this month for example, an update added sign language interpreters to over 150 cutscenes throughout Playground's racing game, a massive win for accessibility. Considering this was a game that was lauded for its accessibility options at launch last year, Playground is going from strength to strength.

Forza Horizon 5 tips | Forza Horizon 5 best cars | Forza Horizon 5 car list | Forza Horizon 5 Barn Finds | Forza Horizon 5 Drift Zones | Forza Horizon 5 Car Mastery | Forza Horizon 5 solar panels 

See more Xbox Series X News
Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Forza Horizon 5 the real deal reasonably priced car seasonal championship volvo 850 R racing
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest Xbox game to make the leap to PS5, and it's launching this spring with all of the same content and DLC
GTA 5
GTA 5 is giving PC players a free upgrade that brings it up to par with the console versions and adds some PC-exclusive features
The Fantastic Four seen running towards Dracula in Marvel Rivals' Season 1 'Eternal Night Falls' trailer.
Marvel Rivals season 1 has "double the playable content of a regular season" and adds maps, heroes, balance changes, and more
Overwatch 2
As Marvel Rivals continues to dominate hero shooters, Overwatch 2 teases "groundbreaking PvP gameplay changes" on the way
Screenshots of Overwatch 2 showing teams battling it out along with new perks and a Stadium game mode in action
Overwatch 2's next seasons go hard after Marvel Rivals lit a fire under Blizzard: upgradeable perks, a big third-person mode, and loot boxes are all coming
GTA Online Hao's Special Works
How to use GTA Online Hao's Special Works to upgrade rides
Latest in Forza Horizon
Forza Horizon 5 the real deal reasonably priced car seasonal championship volvo 850 R racing
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest Xbox game to make the leap to PS5, and it's launching this spring with all of the same content and DLC
Forza Horizon 4
Forza Horizon 4 tops Elden Ring on sales charts and reaches new concurrent player peak as fans flock to the open-world banger before it's delisted forever
Two cars race bumper to bumper, dust billowing from their wheels
Forza Horizon 5's next expansion, Rally Adventure, is out next month
Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 auction house closed after players managed to trash the game's economy
Forza Horizon 4
Forza Horizon 4 is staying on digital storefronts, breaking an unfortunate series tradition
Forza Horizon 4
Why I'm driving around in the smallest, slowest car in Forza Horizon 4
Latest in News
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.
GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says
More about forza horizon
Forza Horizon 5 the real deal reasonably priced car seasonal championship volvo 850 R racing

Forza Horizon 5 is the latest Xbox game to make the leap to PS5, and it's launching this spring with all of the same content and DLC
Forza Horizon 4

Forza Horizon 4 tops Elden Ring on sales charts and reaches new concurrent player peak as fans flock to the open-world banger before it's delisted forever
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.

GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
See more latest
Most Popular
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.
GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
First-person screenshot from ASYLUM, showing the protagonist's hand holding up a notebook while walking through a dark corridor.
After 15 years and a $120,000 Kickstarter push, this cult horror dev has finally released a successor to their 2006 breakout game
screenshot from Rogue Light Deck Builder showing a claymation figure sitting behind a desk.
With 97% positive reviews on Steam, Rogue Light Deck Builder is a hilarious $3 parody game that takes its name very literally
Lady Dimitrescu and Austin Abrams
The new Resident Evil movie may have found a lead in a Euphoria star
Leatherface and Glen Powell
Glenn Powell could be taking a swing at a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre