One of the best parts of being a car enthusiast is playing racing video games. They allow us to live out our automotive fantasy in one way or another, from finally finishing that project build without having to worry about finances, to escaping and immobilizing police cars in cars we'd be scared to touch in real life. In 2012, British development studio Playground Games revolutionized the arcade racer genre with the release of Forza Horizon, an arcade spin-off of the Xbox exclusive simcade racer Forza Motorsport.

Almost a decade later, Forza Horizon is one of the biggest arcade racing franchises in the world, becoming a best-seller and winning dozens upon dozens of awards. Forza Horizon is home to one of the biggest and most dedicated communities in the racing game world, especially after 2018's Forza Horizon 4. After three years of speculation and hype, Playground Games & Turn 10 announced Forza Horizon 5 at the E3 2021 Xbox and Bethesda showcase, and it's a really big deal.

10 The Horizon Festival Lands In Mexico

A C8 Corvette & Koenigsegg Jesko crossing the finish line
Playground Games

One of the defining features of the Horizon series has always been the location. It shapes the gameplay and the way the players drive, and it showcases immaculate attention to detail that very few arcade racers have even tried to replicate. Previously, the Horizon series has taken us to Colorado, Southern Europe, Australia, and the United Kingdom. This year? It's Mexico.

Offroad vehicles standing outside a church
via: Forza

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Although it was to the dismay of that part of the racing game community that wanted Japan to be the location, Mexico is the venue for the Horizon Festival in the latest game. As before, while not 1:1 scale, Horizon Mexico will be a very faithful scaled-down recreation of the Latin American country; from the jungles and towns to an actual active volcano.

9 The Mercedes-AMG One Is The Star Of The Show

Rear 3/4 view of the Mercedes-AMG One racing through Mexico
Playground Games

Another thing the Horizon series is known for is featuring the latest and greatest supercars on the front cover, often making their racing game debut in a Horizon game. The previous stars of the show, in order of release, were the SRT Viper GTS, the Lamborghini Huracán, the Lamborghini Centenario, and the McLaren Senna. This time around, it's the Mercedes-AMG One.

Gameplay with the Mercedes-AMG One in Forza Horizon 5
Playground Games

This doesn't just mark the first time we've seen the production AMG One in a racing game, but it's the first time we've seen the production car period. The AMG One is a very ambitious limited-production hypercar that uses a 1.6-liter turbo V6 engine and hybrid tech taken from an actual F1 car with little to no changes. It's definitely an exciting prospect to smash through the landscapes of Mexico in this amazing car.

8 A New Visual Edge

The engine bay details of a classic car in Forza Horizon 5
Playground Games

This is the first Forza Horizon that'll be released on day one on the Xbox Series X and Series S. Although it will be available on Xbox One as well, it's optimized to run on the latest generation hardware. The ForzaTech engine has always been very impressive, but with the hardware that the developers have access to, they've managed to give Horizon 5 a stunning visual edge.

 A McLaren 720S and a Jaguar XJR-15 racing in the rain
Via Playground Games

The environment details are amazing, and Playground Games says they've been able to capture details as precise as every individual needle on a Cholla cactus. The gameplay and trailers showcase the graphical details even more, and there's not even a shadow of a doubt that this is the most visually impressive Forza game yet.

7 New Ways To Play

 Gameplay of the Ford Bronco in Forza Horizon 5
Via Playground Games

Forza Horizon 5 brings along brand-new gameplay styles that we haven't seen before in other entries in the franchise. They include stuff like Expedition, which sends you on a noble journey across the landscapes of Mexico in search of places to set up a new Horizon festival. It's not clear how this exactly will work, but we'd imagine there will be more to choose from than the preset locations in 2016's Horizon 3.

Gameplay of the Lamborghini Huracan in Forza Horizon 5
Playground Games

A new feature in the game is Forza LINK, an artificially intelligent assistant (like a beefed-up ANNA, in a way) that analyzes and collects data from your gameplay style, and then seamlessly pairs you up with other players to enjoy a shared experience together, without a loading screen or a lobby in sight.

6 New Ways To Express Yourself

A Land Rover Defender fording a stream

2018's Forza Horizon 4 introduced a new way for players to express themselves; a custom avatar. After choosing from a selection of preset avatars, players could customize them with various items of clothing and accessories. This feature has been overhauled for Horizon 5.

A Mitsubishi Evo X & Camaro ZL1 drifting

The most important news, which also addresses a major complaint with the previous game, is that clothing and accessories can now be purchased with in-game credits, and won't be just relegated to the Wheelspin. According to the developers, there's now a more diverse cast of characters, and additional functionalities including selecting pronouns, prosthetic limbs, hairstyle, and much more.

5 Create Your Own Events... From Scratch

A bunch of offroad vehicles driving on an active volcano

Of all the exciting new gameplay features in Forza Horizon 5, this has to be the very best one. Horizon 5 introduces the EventLab; a comprehensive lineup of tools allowing you to create your own events. Sure, you may say, we've seen that before, but this goes a step further; you can change the fundamental rules of the event that you create.

A Ford Bronco smashing through bowling pins
youtube.com | Forza

In the gameplay demonstration at E3, the developers showcased a Pinata Pop gamemode made with the EventLab, where players had to scramble around an area of the game world, smashing pinatas to rack up points. They also showcased a bowling alley minigame, adding that the EventLab has limitless possibilities.

4 Dynamic Seasons Are Back

A group of offroad vehicles in Forza Horizon 5

One of the biggest innovations in Horizon 4 were the dynamic seasons. Every week over the course of a month, the in-game season would change. This affected everything from the vegetation and the environment, to the surface grip and the way the cars behaved. Good news; dynamic seasons return in Horizon 5.

A McLaren 720S and Jaguar XJR-15 racing in the rain

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While Playground Games hasn't gone into much detail, we'd imagine that the seasons will be much more complex and detailed than they were before. Dynamic weather is also, obviously, still very much present. The weather has also been given more pop, as the development team used a 12K camera rig to capture real Mexican skies over 24 hour periods. Now that's dedication.

3 EVs Have Joined The Party

A Porsche Taycan in Forza Horizon 5

While electric cars have appeared in this series in some form before, they weren't quite as commonly seen. As we're heading into a new era for the automotive industry, Forza Horizon 5 seems to have welcomed several more electric cars to the party.

A C8 Corvette and Rimac C_Two racing through a sand storm

The trailer showcases two in particular; the Porsche Taycan and the Rimac C_Two/Nevera, though you'd have to look pretty hard to notice the latter. It's safe to assume that Horizon 5 will give us access to even more electricity-powered machines to take for a spin.

2 More Vehicle Customization Than Ever

A bunch of vehicles on top of a mountain in Forza Horizon 5

They really didn't leave a single stone unturned. Horizon 5 is said to feature even more vehicle customization than ever, which is impressive because the list of drivable vehicles isn't exactly small. There are new paint types to choose from, a completely overhauled livery editor, as well as over 100 new rims and hundreds of new body kits for various cars.

A modified Evo X drifting

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Some of these body kits are clearly visible in the trailer, like the Mitsubishi Evo X (pictured) and the C8 Corvette, which seems to be wearing TJ Hunt's Streethunter body kit. This, combined with the extensive character customization, should create a game that truly allows players to express themselves to the maximum.

1 Pricing & Launch

Two offroad vehicles smashing through a food stand

The base MSRP of... just kidding. Forza Horizon 5 is set to launch on Windows 10, Xbox Series S /X as well as Xbox One on November 9, 2021. Xbox Game Pass owners will be able to play the game on launch day.

The Mercedes-AMG One taking off

There are three different versions to choose from. The Standard Edition is $59.99 in both retail and digital forms. The Deluxe Edition, which includes the Horizon Car Pass valued at $29.99, goes for $79.99. Finally, the full bells-and-whistles Premium Edition, which includes the Car Pass, VIP Membership, and Welcome Pack, goes for a considerable $99.99.

With all of these incredible innovations, Forza Horizon 5 is seriously shaping up to be the racing game to have in 2021. November 9 can't come soon enough.

NEXT: 10 Fastest Cars In Forza Horizon 4, Ranked