Forza Horizon 5 10-Year Anniversary update arrives on Oct. 11 with new content, music, and modes

Official cover for Forza Horizon' 10th Anniversary.
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios | Twitter)

What you need to know

  • Forza Horizon is a legendary open-world racing franchise, and it's nearing its 10-year anniversary in October.
  • Playground Games is dedicating the next Forza Horizon 5 Series update to celebrating the monumental milestone.
  • The "Horizon 10-Year Anniversary" update is arriving on Oct. 11, and will bring plenty of new content.
  • Players can expect a new Horizon Story, fresh music in a new radio station, a new Midnight Battles racing mode, and much more.

On Oct. 23, 2012, Playground Games made its debut with the release of Forza Horizon, an open-world counterpart to the already-legendary Forza Motorsport franchise. Now, we're rapidly approaching the 10-year anniversary of this epic racing series, and Playground Games is intending to celebrate every moment of it.

Revealed during the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2022, Playground Games is releasing a "Horizon 10-Year Anniversary" update for Forza Horizon 5 next month. The update will include a host of celebratory content and feature additions for players to explore, all paying homage to the last 10 years of Forza Horizon. To mark the announcement, Playground Games also dropped a teaser trailer with montages going through the years, starting with Forza Horizon and ending with the studio's latest masterpiece, Forza Horizon 5.

The "Horizon 10-Year Anniversary" update for Forza Horizon 5 is also Series 13 of the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist. The four weeks-long celebrations will include a new Horizon Story detailing the beginnings of the Forza Horizon franchise, a return of fan-favorite music from previous entries hosted by a brand-new radio station, and the Midnight Battles mode that rewards cars for winning PvP Head-to-Head Race Events. Each Season of the Festival Playlist will also be dedicated to a previous Forza Horizon entry, with anniversary-themed events, challenges, and rewards.

It stands to reason that new cars will join the Forza Horizon 5 car list alongside the update, but details currently aren't available for what these vehicle additions may be. Players can expect the Forza Horizon 5 Series 13 "Horizon 10-Year Anniversary" update to release on Oct. 11, 2022, for Xbox and PC, with the Festival Playlist beginning on Oct. 13. In case you missed it, Forza Horizon 5 Series 12 just kicked off with new cars, body kits, and more.

The Forza Horizon franchise has evolved in innumerable ways since its debut, culminating with the critically-acclaimed and positively gargantuan Forza Horizon 5. Playground Games has repeatedly proved its mastery of the genre, with each entry firmly resting among the top Xbox racing games. With the Horizon 10-Year Anniversary, players will be able to celebrate what has made every Forza Horizon game so fun.

Forza Horizon 5

Forza Horizon 5

Playground Games is celebrating 10 years of Forza Horizon with the next major update for Forza Horizon 5. Dubbed "Horizon 10-Year Anniversary," the update brings new content and a fresh Festival Playlist.

Buy from: Amazon | Xbox

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Forza Horizon 5, in all its entirety, is included in every tier of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, including on Xbox, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. You can even secure sweet discounts on various FH5 DLC and expansions.

Buy from: Amazon | Xbox

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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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