Forza Horizon 5 has found itself embroiled in controversy, as the game's developers have expressed their disagreement with The Game Awards nominations. There have been several controversies surrounding this year's Game Awards. From the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC getting a nomination for Game of the Year, to EA Sports College Football 25 being left out of the Best Sports/Racing category, this year's event is already seeing shake-ups. In addition to these decisions, Forza Horizon 5 has thrown shade at the awards ceremony for not including it in a popular category.
On November 18, the official X account for the Forza Horizon franchise shared a collage that showcased an impressive number of updates since its 2021 launch. Forza Horizon 5's beef with The Game Awards was made clear by the post saying, "Forza fans know the real best ongoing game this year." With this being such a big category for the event, it makes sense for Forza Horizon 5 to wish so hard for a nomination, especially after it has managed three strong years.
Forza Horizon 5: 30 Fast Cars That Handle Really Well
Forza Horizon 5 players know that the fastest cars can be hard to control sometimes, but these ones handle smoothly and can still reach high speeds.
Forza Horizon 5 Throws Serious Shade At The Game Awards Nomination Choices
Games Nominated For 2024's Best Ongoing Game Award
- Destiny 2
- Diablo 4
- Final Fantasy 14
- Fortnite
- Helldivers 2
Clearly, the above list of nominees are all strong contenders in their own right, but Forza Horizon 5 still has a strong argument that it is deserving of a place in the category. In the same post, Forza Horizon 5 boasted that it has provided more post-launch content than any other game in the entire Forza franchise. Even this year, the racing title has featured substantial updates. Back in September, Forza Horizon 5 added Hide and Seek, a wild multiplayer mode that pits one Hider against five Seeker players. Hide and Seek in a racing game sounds like an impossible concept, but Forza Horizon 5 made it happen. Last month's Back to the 90s update brought some fun nostalgia as well. Not only has the game continued to bring fresh content, but each event and update has been quite unique, offering a lot of diversity for players.
A few of the games nominated have been regularly represented in the Best Ongoing Game category, as Fortnite and Final Fantasy 14 have been mainstays for the past few years. While Forza Horizon 5 has a strong following, it looks like The Game Awards wanted to make room for newcomers Diablo 4 and Helldivers 2.
Diablo 4 received a massive update recently with its Vessel of Hatred DLC in tandem with the launch of Season 6.
Forza Horizon 5 Continues to Prove Why It Received Such Great Accolades
One of the Best Games of 2021
Forza Horizon 5 was one of the highest-rated games of 2021, and its continued success speaks as to why that was the case. Even three years later, Forza Horizon 5 still boasts a massive player base. According to Statista, as of this year, Forza Horizon 5 harbors 40 million players across the globe. The combination of Forza Horizon 5's strong reviews and continued growth gives weight to its own claims that it deserved a spot on the Best Ongoing Game roster.
Despite not receiving its hoped-for nomination this year, Forza Horizon 5 won the Best Sports/Racing category at The Game Awards in 2021.
With its fun and unique content updates and high-profile crossovers, like the Halo franchise, it is indeed surprising that Forza Horizon 5 is left out of the category. Of course, there is the possibility it could have been considered, but the game at least has the bragging rights of its many successes and strong reviews to carry it for years to come. The sting of being left out of a category that felt like a shoo-in is understandable, but there are plenty of other great wins for Forza Horizon 5 to celebrate.
Forza Horizon 5
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 100%
- Released
- November 9, 2021
- ESRB
- E for Everyone // In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Playground Games
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Forza Tech
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
- Franchise
- Forza Horizon
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- Racing, Open-World
- How Long To Beat
- 20 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 134 GB (November 2023)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
