Forza Horizon 5 Dev Says Game Looks Great On All Platforms, Discusses Impact Of COVID

Forza Horizon 5 will look better and perform better on the latest Xbox console or a high-end PC, but whatever platform you’re playing on, you should have a good experience. That’s according to Playground Games Creative Director Mike Brown, who recently spoke about the differences between the different editions of Forza Horizon 5. Brown also spoke about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of the racing game. .

“There are so many slight differences between the platforms, I think I would have a hard time giving you a totally precise answer. The main improvements come from the power we have from the Xbox Series X and S… this is just the phenomenal detail we’re able to fit into every scene, ”he said at a recent event that GameSpot attended. “The quality of the assets is improved. The quality of the lighting is improved. The quality of the shadows is improved.”

In the Forzavista mode in particular, which allows players to examine their cars up close, Forza Horizon 5 supports ray tracing for an additional visual leap. “Everything is rendered with unprecedented realism,” said Brown.

The main difference between the Series X and Series S editions of Forza Horizon 5 will be its ability to output in 4K on the high-end model and 1080p for the Series S.

“Other than that, it should be more or less the same. Visual fidelity should be the same. You will still have ray tracing in Forzavista. Everything else should be as detailed and brilliant as on the X series,”, Brown said.

Going further down the Xbox console spectrum, Brown said he did not have readily available information regarding specific graphics and performance statistics for older Xbox hardware. But overall, Brown said he’s confident gamers will enjoy the game and its visuals no matter what platform they’re on.

“I’ll just say that whatever platform you’re playing on – whether it’s a basic Xbox One, Xbox One X, or high-end PC – you’re going to experience a very good gaming experience. It looks great on every platform, ”he said.

Also during the interview, Brown discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the development of Forza Horizon 5. Thanks in part to the game’s three-year development cycle (as opposed to the normal two-year timeline), the team was able to send researchers to Mexico to capture and compile a database of assets to use as models for gaming before the pandemic. But when the pandemic struck, UK-based Playground Games switched to working from home and Brown said the team was able to pivot quickly and successfully to this new environment.

“Obviously, COVID-19 has affected everyone. It has affected everyone and everyone’s life, and I don’t want to sit here and pretend that video games were the hardest thing to do. do during a pandemic, ”Brown said. “We are a team of problem solvers and we responded very quickly. The team did a good job of getting everyone ready to work from home almost as soon as the pandemic struck. And every time we encountered production issues, we just immediately worked to try and resolve them. The team did a really good job. It wasn’t something we planned at the start. Likewise, I don’t think it is. something that massively derailed us or whatever. COVID has affected everyone’s lives in a ton of ways. I don’t think our transition to working from home was the worst of it. “

Forza Horizon 5 launches November 9 for Xbox and PC, and it’s included with Xbox Game Pass. About a month later, Microsoft will launch another big exclusive, Halo Infinite, on December 8, according to a recent leak.

To learn more about Forza Horizon 5, check out this article, How Forza Horizon 5’s Additional Year of Development Helped Make It a Better, More Accessible Game. Microsoft also recently announced a special edition Xbox Forza Horizon 5 controller.