Forza Horizon 5 update for "Forza Holidays" Series 15 and "FORDzathon" Series 16 released

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 5 enjoys regular injections of new content, including cars, through its Festival Playlist.
• In its latest stream, Playground Games detailed the next two FH5 Series updates.
• Forza Horizon 5 Series 15 "Forza Holidays" for December, and Series 16 "FORDzathon" for January.
• Both updates are relatively modest in size, but with up to 11 new cars between them.

Update, Dec. 6, 2022, at 12:30 p.m. CT — The update containing all of the content, fixes, and improvements for the next two Forza Horizon 5 series has been released to all players across Xbox and PC. You can now check out the full changelog for the patch update, which includes fixes for liveries, car models, and more. Forza Horizon 5 Series 15 "Forza Holidays" officially kicks off on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. The original article continues below.

Forza Horizon 5 is already one of Xbox's flagship games, and a standout addition to the racing genre, but it continues to get better with consistent and regular post-launch support. Playground Games shook it up a bit by announcing and detailing two upcoming content updates for Forza Horizon 5 and its Festival Playlist.

The Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist is currently on the Series 14 update, and the latest FH5 stream revealed the Series 15 "Forza Holidays" update for most of December 2022, and the Series 16 "FORDzathon" update for most of January 2023. Both updates will bring new content and challenges to players, but will also add up to 11 brand-new cars to the Forza Horizon 5 car list.

The theme of FH5 Series 15 is the holidays, and will mark the return of Secret Santa. This community-wide event allows players to gift cars and items from the Forzathon Shop to their friends or random players, and further incentivizes players to gift their cars through Barn Finds. There's a community goal for Secret Santa with two rewards up for grabs: the "Holiday Tree Outfit" Vanity Item at 50% of the community goal, and a secret New to Forza vehicle at 100% of the goal.

Well, the car is supposed to be a secret, but Playground Games may have accidentally revealed it during the stream (and I don't just mean the teaser outline of the car, which already had some FH5 fans correctly guessing. The Secret Santa reward for achieving 100% of the community goal in Forza Horizon 5's Series 15 update is none other than the 2020 Lamborghini Sián Roadster. All players will also be gifted the stylish and unique 2021 Cupra UrbanRebel Concept on Dec. 8, 2022 (the day Series 15 begins).

Forza Horizon 5 Series 16, dubbed "FORDzathon," is predictably all about Ford vehicles. While there are no new Ford additions to the car roster with this update (for some reason), every challenge, race, and event does feature Ford vehicles. Players will be able to expand their garage with valuable Fords, and take advantage of the ones they already own.

Here's a full rundown of everything to expect from Forza Horizon 5 Series 15 "Forza Holidays" and Series 16 "FORDzathon."

• Forza Horizon 5 Series 15 "Forza Holidays." Embrace the holidays and the festive cheer with the next FH5 Festival Playlist, which will feature plenty of holiday puns, themed events and challenges, and festive clothing and collectibles, and more. Players will also be challenged with tracking down a new secret snowman collectible every week.
  • There will also be a new EventLab Build Stub placed closer to El Estadio (the stadium), to make that unique location more accessible for creative builds
  • The Forzathon Shop will also feature an additional cosmetic item every week
• Secret Santa community challenge. For the duration of Series 15, players can participate in a Secret Santa community challenge that's all about the power of gift-giving. Players can purchase cars and items from the Forzathon Shop to gift to their friends or random players, and all cars given through Barn Finds also count toward the community goal.
  • If players reach 50% of the community goal, all players will receive the "Holiday Tree Outfit" Vanity Item
  • If players reach 100% of the community goal, all players will receive a secret, New to Forza vehicle
• Series 15 new cars. Forza Horizon 5's fifteenth Series update includes up to six new vehicles. The 2021 Cupra UrbanRebel Concept electric vehicle will be gifted to all players on Dec. 8, 2022, while the 2020 Lamborghini Sián Roadster is almost certainly the secret reward for completing 100% of the Secret Santa community goal challenge. Here's every new car included in the Series 15 "Forza Holidays" update:
  • 1958 Plymouth Fury
  • 1970 AMC Rebel "The Machine"
  • 1971 AMC Javelin AMX
  • 2013 Cadillac XTS Limousine
  • 2020 Lamborghini Sián Roadster
  • 2021 Cupra UrbanRebel Concept
• Forza Horizon 5 Series 16 "FORDzathon." Ford apparently reached out to Playground Games in order to collaborate on a Ford-themed Festival Playlist, which celebrates the huge collection of amazing Ford vehicles in Forza Horizon 5 with new challenges, events, and races featuring them.
  • There are no new Ford vehicles being added to FH5 with this update, for some reason, but players can obtain rare and valuable Ford vehicles from the Festival Playlist
• Series 16 new cars. As I've already mentioned, there aren't any new Fords here, but players can obtain three new Renaults and two new MGs. Here's every new car included in the Series 16 "FORDzathon" update:
  • 2010 Renault Clio R.S.
  • 2010 Renault Megane RS 250
  • 2016 Renault Clio R.S. 16 Concept
  • 2020 MG MG6 XPower #20
  • 2021 MG MG6 XPower

Forza Horizon 5 is absolutely one of the best Xbox racing games you can play, and the next two Series updates are elevating it to new heights. Neither update is particularly ambitious or large in size, unfortunately, but players can still look forward to up to 11 new cars (as long as the Secret Santa community goal is reached), which is three more than the typical four-a-Series we expect.