We have interesting rumors going around about one of Microsoft’s biggest video game franchises.
Several sources are claiming that Forza Horizon 5 is set to release on the PlayStation 5. This rumor seems to have been tied up to other vague rumors of other potential multiplatform releases of Microsoft games, so we’ll focus on Forza Horizon 5 for this article.
Speculation around Forza Horizon 5 coming to PlayStation 5 began thanks to NateDrake and Shinobi602. As reported by XboxEra, they dropped hints that more Xbox games would be announced to come to new platforms, and it’s clear that they are alluding here to PlayStation 5.
But neither named Forza Horizon 5. XboxEra reported on a teaser from extas1s, but as shared on the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit by user MXHombre123, they actually spelled out what they knew in a later tweet. extas1s said:
“…for Forza Horizon 5 there are, and it will be released in not too long.
The announcement? It doesn’t matter if it happens this week, next week or the other, but it is coming to PS5 in the next few months as confirmed in my GIF and as many colleagues have already corroborated.
Some colleagues believe that the announcement will be imminent, others not so much, but it is coming.”
Lastly, Insider Gaming corroborated that they had also heard that Forza Horizon 5 is planned for release to the PlayStation 5.
If true, it’ll be interesting to see it finally go head to head with Gran Turismo on the same platform. But there’s a big hole with this plan. Can you guess what it is?
The big issue is Forza Horizon 5¸ as many games made by their peers, has a limited timeframe for the licenses for the cars and music that they have in the game. Last month, Microsoft began preparations for delisting its predecessor, Forza Horizon 4. Some fans are eager to critique Microsoft and Turn 10 for this, but the same thing happens to the WRC games, F1 games, etc. And yes, the same is true for the Gran Turismo games. In fact, Gran Turismo Sport was infamously delisted without warning, a month before its servers would be shut down, earlier this year.
The licenses for these racing games usually last four years, and guess what? Forza Horizon 5 was released on Xbox Series X|S all the way back in 2021. That means that the licenses could end as soon as next year!
But maybe it’s not that bad. After all, Forza Horizon 4 was released in 2018, and only starting its delisting this year. So PlayStation 5 owners could get to play Forza Horizon 5 for as long as 2027. While Sony fans may brag once again that they’re getting another Xbox game, if Xbox isn’t extending these licenses, they actually won’t be getting this game for that long.
