Forza Horizon 5 Getting Massive 10th Anniversary Update With New Achievements, Story, And More

The original Forza Horizon game was released in October 2012, so it's coming up on its 10th anniversary. To mark the anniversary, Microsoft is releasing a Horizon 10-Year Anniversary update for Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox and PC that comes with a new "Horizon Origins Story" and the Midnight Battles mode that lets players collect rare cars by winning races.

The free anniversary update launches on October 11, kicking off a four-week celebration. And for anyone who is just getting into the Forza Horizon series, Forza Horizon 4 and Forza Horizon 5 are marked down nicely right now on the Microsoft Store and on Steam. Of note, these games are also available on Game Pass.

The Horizon Origins event is a new narrative experience that spans five chapters and takes players back in time to relive "iconic gameplay moments" from across the series. Players who complete all five chapters will get the 2013 Dodge SRT Viper GTS Anniversary Edition. This is a special version of the original Forza Horizon cover car.

The Midnight Battles mode, meanwhile, challenges players to win Street Scene races that pop up--there are a total of 16 of these in the game. Players can unlock four rare cars in Midnight Battles, including the 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1, 1984 Honda Civic CRX Mugen, 2003 Toyota Celica SS-I, and the 2010 Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SV.

Additionally, Forza Horizon 5's in-game music has been updated with a new permanent station that features songs from across the series. Players will unlock the new songs by completing Accolades in the Horizon Origins Story. A full list of tracks is available on the Forza Horizon website.

Additionally, players can unlock new items, emotes, and car horns themed around the Forza Horizon series, including t-shirts for the game's past locations, such as Australia and Colorado. What's more, the world of Forza Horizon 5 is evolving to celebrate the anniversary, with new festival sites popping up in the game world themed around past entries in the franchise.

Eight new achievements for Forza Horizon 5 are also being added with the anniversary update so players can pad out their gamerscore even more.

Finally, Microsoft teased the next update to come for Forza Horizon 5, saying only that it will involve "donuts."

"That's all we're saying for now--whether it's the tasty or drifting kind, you'll have to tune back in next month for the official details!"

In addition to ongoing updates for Forza Horizon 5 and presumably the next entry in the series, developer Playground Games is making a new Fable game, though little is known about it. Outside of the Forza Horizon series, Microsoft's Turn 10 Studios is making a new Forza Motorsport game for release in Spring 2023.