Head to Jurassic Park or Back to the Future with the latest Forza Horizon 5 update, which also includes a dark horse

Image of the Forza Horizon 5 Modern Horizons update.
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

What you need to know

  • Forza Horizon 5 shows no signs of stopping its live service train, and Playground Games has just detailed the next update.
  • Modern Horizons releases tomorrow (June 18, 2024), with its accompanying Festival Playlist kicking off later in the week.
  • Players can expect five new modern cars released in the last few years, including the brand-new 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
  • There's also a new Universal Icons Car Pack, which includes legendary vehicles from Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and even Knight Rider.

Forza Horizon 5 may have gone full retro in its last update, but it's heading back to the present with the latest release — for the most part. The next Forza Horizon 5 update is dubbed 'Modern Horizons,' and it includes up to 10 new cars for players to add to their garage alongside the usual bevy of other content additions and improvements. As always, we also got a tease for what's coming next for the ongoing live service racing game.

Playground Games detailed the Forza Horizon 5: Modern Horizon update in the Let's Go! stream below, but I'll be including everything you need to know in this article. As always, the update is dropping on a Tuesday (June 18, 2024 to be specific) with the new Modern Horizons Festival Playlist kicking off on the following Thursday (which would be June 20).

Forza Horizon 5: Let's ¡GO! - Modern Horizons - YouTube Forza Horizon 5: Let's ¡GO! - Modern Horizons - YouTube
Watch On

Here's everything you need to know about the Forza Horizon 5: Modern Horizons update.

  • Five new cars. The Modern Horizons update is all about — you guessed it — modern cars. The five new cars included as Festival Playlist reward vehicles were released in the last few years, and there's even a highly-requested new addition with the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
    • 2021 Toyota GR Yaris
    • 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N
    • 2023 Kia EV6 GT
    • 2023 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S
    • 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse
  • Universal Icons Car Pack. There's also a brand-new Car Pack, perfect for the fans of Universal Studios' legendary 80s and 90s franchises like Jurassic Park, Knight Rider, and Back to the Future. The Universal Icons Car Pack will be available from June 18, 2024 for $9.99.
    • 1982 DMC DeLorean "Time Machine from Back to the Future"
    • 1982 DMC DeLorean "Time Machine from Back to the Future Part II"
    • 1982 DMC DeLorean "Time Machine from Back to the Future Part III"
    • 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am "K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider"
    • 1992 Jeep Wrangler Sahara "Jurassic Park"
  • New EventLab props. Perfect for testing out your new modern powerhouses, Playground Games is also adding brand-new EventLab props. This time around, it's a ton of different highway pieces so that players can design their own highways for EventLab creations.
  • Other additions. Elsewhere, Modern Horizons is a pretty modest update. We're getting a new Shark Outfit cosmetic item, as well as a sleek and shiny Robot Collectible that you can discover in the world as part of the Festival Playlist.

That's a lot of legend in one picture. (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

There are some excellent new cars for the Forza Horizon 5 car list in the Modern Horizons update, like the Dark Horse Mustang, Toyota's fan-favorite GR Yaris, and some choice electric vehicles from Hyundai. For many, though, the highlight of this update will be the Universal Icons Car Pack, which includes some sweet vehicles from legendary franchises.

The distinct red lights on K.I.T.T. are fully functional, and all three of the Time Machines will have unique and accurate audio when reaching 88 MPH. There's a lot of attention to detail here that should make the relatively steep price of $9.99 more than worth it for fans. The Universal Icons Car Pack will be available for one of the best Xbox racing games from June 18, 2024.

Playground Games also teased the next Forza Horizon 5 update, which will apparently feature a Coffee Shop as part of the Evolving World. I have no idea what that entails, but it'll be interesting to find out.

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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.

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