Forza Horizon 5 is the only major racing game release from Microsoft this year and fans have been hungry for new information since the game was first revealed during E3 2021. When Forza Horizon 5 was first announced in June 2021, Mexico was confirmed as the location that the game would take place. Mexico was a surprising choice for some fans who would have rather that Japan had been chosen.  

Why was Mexico chosen for Forza Horizon 5?

The game developers revealed that Mexico was chosen due to the diversity of environments that the country has to offer. With deserts, rainforests, beaches, mountains, and even a volcano there is plenty of variety for players to experience in Forza Horizon 5.

The one thing that was unclear was what the entirety of the new map would look like. However, during a live stream event, the creative director Mike Brown gave viewers the first-ever look at the entire map. 

How big is the Forza Horizon 5 map?

Brown had previously stated that the new Mexico map would be one and a half times larger than the United Kingdom map featured in Forza Horizon 4.

The map also gives a detailed look at the diverse environments mentioned previously. The volcano and most of the desert biomes appear to mostly occupy the west side of the map. The jungles and rainforests are all found in the southern area of the map. Finally, it looks like most of the twisty mountain roads will be located in the northern area of the map. 

The main “hub” of Forza Horizon 5 will most likely be Guanajuato City which is just south of the mountain ranges at the top of the map.

The diversity of the map should lend itself well to players who enjoy a variety of car types. There are plenty of dirt roads on the map that suit off-road race cars like the Ford Bronco R and plenty of long paved roads that are ideal for hypercars like the Mercedes-AMG Project ONE.

Are there any secrets hidden in the Forza Horizon 5 map?

One major element that is lacking in the Mexico map is that there is not a body of water that is completely landlocked except for the small lake in the volcano summit. There are several rivers and a dam area but that is not quite the same as the lake found in the UK map from Forza Horizon 4. 

The lake in the previous game was host to a few in-game secrets that could only be accessed when it was frozen over during the winter seasons. 

The Mexico map might have similar secrets that are locked behind weather changes but that is not visible in any obvious way. 

There is potential for some hidden secrets such as a “barn find” inside the volcano crater and possibly more hidden within some of the temples that are found in the rainforest areas. However, there are currently no hidden map features confirmed by any of the game’s developers.

When will we learn more about Forza Horizon 5?

It is possible that we will learn more during the Xbox Gamescom live stream on August 24th. It seems very likely that Forza Horizon 5 will be among the featured segments of the streamed event since the game is set to release on November 5th, 2021 which is only a few months away. If we’re lucky, we’ll find out everything we need to know about the new map and much more.