What you need to know
- The end of 2024 is rapidly approaching, but Forza Horizon 5 still isn't slowing down.
- Today, Playground Games released the final update of the year for FH5, and it's actually a two-in-one.
- For December, Holiday Mix-Ups will bring two wintery stadiums and five new cars to collect.
- In January, players will get another new car, a fresh stunt park, and more ways to build in EventLab.
It has now been over three years since Forza Horizon 5 was released across Xbox and PC, and it doesn't seem like the game is going to stop getting new content and features any time soon. As we enter the final month of 2024, Playground Games has released the last update of the year for Forza Horizon 5. Horizon Holiday Mix-Up is now available to download on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC.
This isn't quite like normal content updates, though, because the Forza developers deserve their own break over the holidays just like the rest of us. So, Holiday Mix-Up is actually two updates in one, spanning all of December and January. The first half focuses on holiday festivities and some exciting new cars, while the more modest "Extreme Horizon" half in January will bring one new car and some other interesting features.
While I'm here, I also want to remind all of you that Forza Horizon 4 goes end-of-life on Dec. 15, 2024, meaning you have less than two weeks to buy the game and all its DLC before they permanently disappear from digital storefronts. One of the best ways to do that is to pick up Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition (Xbox & PC) for $19.99 at Amazon, which includes a huge amount of content.
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A total of six new cars across two months of wintery fun
With December being dedicated to "Horizon Holiday Mix-Up" and January to "Extreme Horizon," you'd expect a ton of new content — but this list isn't going to be terribly long.
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Five new cars with Horizon Holiday Mix-Up. First, Forza Horizon 5 is getting five new cars in December, with four being Festival Playlist reward cars and the fifth being a reward for completing a limited-time event between Dec. 5-12.
- 2006 Mercedes-Benz E 55 AMG Wagon
- 2014 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon
- 2021 Bentley Flying Spur
- 2024 Nissan Z Nismo
- 2022 BMW M5 CS
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One more car with Extreme Horizon. In January, FH5 players will be able to collect one more new car as part of the Festival Playlist.
- 1965 DeBerti Design Chevrolet C10 "Slayer"
- A whole lot of Stadium makeovers. During December, the Horizon Stadium will alternate between two festive themes, with the first and third weeks being the Winter Wonderland Stadium and the second and fourth weeks being the popular Ice Rink. In January, players will get to explore the Stunt Park once again.
- More EventLab content. Creators rejoice, the EventLab is getting four new build stubs permanently added to the Forza Horizon 5 map with the arrival of Extreme Horizon, giving you more locations to build your masterpieces.
Playground Games also teased Feb. 2025's content update, Midnight Muscle, which will bring back the extended nighttime, add new reward cars and events, and let players customize their start screen experience.
I'll never say no to more themed Festival Playlists and new cars, but Holiday Mix-Up does feel pretty tame for being a dual update. I hope that the Playground Games team gets a ton of rest through the holidays and kicks it into high gear for 2025, as Forza Horizon 5 updates have felt pretty familiar from month to month lately (new cars, new Festival Playlist, new Stadium, new EventLab props). Although, I'll admit getting some Halo content in FH5 was pretty cool.
Whatever happens next year, the Forza Horizon 5 car list is already easily one of the most impressive vehicle rosters of any racing game you can play today (or have ever been able to play, honestly), and it does seem like it will continue to get bigger in the future. In the meantime, Forza Horizon 5: Horizon Holiday Mix-Up is now available to download for all players, and you can check out the full changelog at Forza.net.
Also, here's your final reminder that Forza Horizon 4 is set to be permanently delisted from digital storefronts on Dec. 15, 2024, and that includes being removed from Xbox Game Pass. If you want to keep the game to play forever, you'll want to buy it before then, like getting Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition (Xbox & PC) for $19.99 at Amazon.
