Forza Horizon 5 embraces the darkness with 'Midnights at Horizon' Series update

Official screenshot of Forza Horizon 5.
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

What you need to know

  • Forza Horizon 5 is a live service, open-world racing game from Playground Games and Xbox Game Studios.
  • On Monday, the studio announced Series 19 "Midnights at Horizon," the next Series update coming to the game.
  • The update will bring four new cars, extended nighttime, plenty of night-related challenges and events, and much more.
  • It begins right after the Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure DLC expansion releases to players.

Update, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. CT: A new content update is now available for all Forza Horizon 5 players across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PCs. The major update includes all the content included in both Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure (purchase necessary) and Series 19 "Midnights at Horizon" (free for everyone). Windows Central's original article detailing this new content continues below.


Forza Horizon 5 is a gorgeous game, but it's particularly stunning when seen at night. Playground Games has noticed the community's love for FH5 after the sun sets, so has cultivated an entire Festival Playlist centered around nighttime. Series 19 "Midnights at Horizon" is coming, and it's one of the most exciting FH5 updates to date.

Forza Horizon 5 Series 19 "Midnights at Horizon" brings an extended nighttime to Forza Horizon 5, giving players more time to speed through Mexico in the dark. Accompanying the longer nights are plenty of neon-themed decorations spread throughout races and the open world, ensuring that players aren't left entirely without a source of light. There's a good bit to discuss in this update, including:

  • An Evolving World update. The world of Forza Horizon 5 is evolving once again, with a host of neon-themed decorations for races, events, and the open world. The Airfield is particularly influenced, with a stunning vista of neon sculptures, decals, barriers, and much more.
  • A Festival Playlist, after dark. Of course, the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist is joining in on the fun, with a plethora of challenges, races, and events inspired by the neon night descending on Mexico. The very first challenges for Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure are also included in this Playlist.
  • Four new cars. Every Festival Playlist brings new cars to Forza Horizon 5's car list, and "Midnights at Horizon" is no exception. While only bringing a modest four cars versus the seven included in Forza Horizon 5 Series 18, players should be happy with the vehicles arriving in this update, including:
    • 2021 Lexus LC 500
    • 2021 Rimac Nevera
    • 2022 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing
    • 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
  • New body kit upgrades. Playground Games has been adding new upgrades and options for vehicles in various Festival Playlist updates, and Series 19 is no exception. In addition to the available body kits and upgrades for new cars, three existing vehicles are getting new body kits options in this update, including:
    • 1997 BMW M3 (E36)
    • 2010 BMW M3 GTS (E92)
    • 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
  • Other vehicle upgrades. Aside from sweet new body kits, the Midnights at Horizon update is bringing other vehicle upgrades to the game, including:
    • Anti-lag turbo options for various vehicles, which should improve the responsiveness (and therefore the performance) of those vehicles
    • New tire profile size options for 44 vehicles, including most of the major off-roading vehicles
  • New EventLab props. The expansive EventLab creator is growing once again with a myriad of new props, this time from two different sources. Players can expect plenty of additional options from Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure and the Midnights at Horizon update, including new prop cars and buildings, decorations, neon lights, and much more.
  • Other additions and fixes. With the Series 19 update, Forza Horizon 5 is gaining a bunch of new bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements, and some nice new features. The two most notable additions include:
    • NVIDIA DLSS 3 support for RTX 40-Series GPUs, which enable up to 120Hz even with completely maxed out graphical settings
    • New steering wheel options for console players

While not strictly included as part of the Festival Playlist, the Midnights at Horizon update will also benefit from the Launch Control Assist available to all cars and the 15 songs included in the returning Epitaph radio station.

Forza Horizon 5 Series 19 "Midnights at Horizon" kicks off on Thursday, March 30, 2023, and is completely free for all players. The Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure expansion, a paid DLC, releases on Wednesday, March 29. There's a lot on the horizon for FH5 players, with hours of new content arriving for those itching to return to Mexico and take to the streets once more. Forza Horizon 5 is one of the best Xbox racing games for a reason.

Forza Horizon 5 Expansions Bundle

Forza Horizon 5 Expansions Bundle

The Forza Horizon 5 Expansions Bundle is exactly what you'd expect. This DLC package includes Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels, and will also include Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure the moment it launches on March 29, 2023.

Buy from: Xbox | Amazon | GameStop

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Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.