Forza Horizon 5’s PlayStation debut comes with a surprising catch
Forza Horizon 5’s account requirement raises preservation concerns for players
When Forza Horizon 5 arrives on PlayStation, it will require a Microsoft account to play, it’s been revealed.
The game, which will be crossplay on all platforms and contain all of the content from both the Xbox and PC versions of the game, will require an extra account linking process from PlayStation players.
As pointed out by Does It Play? A newly published FAQ confirms that the game, which will mark the debut of the series on PlayStation platforms, will require the player to have both a PSN account and a Microsoft account on PS5.
Players will be prompted to do this when they start the game on their console. There will be no way around this, as the game is only being released digitally, meaning there is no way to play it on PlayStation without going through this step.
As Does It Play points out, this has implications for the preservation of the game, as now not only does it rely on the PSN being active indefinitely to verify the ownership of the game, but it also requires Microsoft to maintain its account system. This also allows both parties to revoke or end service on the game without any physical recourse.
Forza Horizon 5 will come to PlayStation on April 25 for those who purchase the premium edition, and then April 29 for standard edition players.
As well as the PS5 port, a new free content update for Forza Horizon 5 called Horizon Realms is coming to all platforms.
According to Playground Games, the Realms update “will give players the chance to explore a curated collection of some of the community’s favorite previously released Evolving Worlds, alongside some other surprises”.
Following its release in November 2021, Microsoft claimed Forza Horizon 5 had enjoyed the biggest launch in Xbox history at the time, with more than 10 million players in its first week.
VGC’s Forza Horizon 5 review called the racer “the first essential game of the generation”.
“Forza Horizon 5 is the best game in the series and the best Xbox Series X/S game to date,” wrote critic Chris Scullion. “Its flawless racing and wealth of activities are backed up by a gorgeous setting and a fantastic new progression system which encourages players to focus on the features they enjoy most. Utterly essential.”
