Forza Horizon 5's map is here and the volcano is basically Mount Doom

Forza Horizon 5
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Forza Horizon 5 is going to Mexico this November, and while we got a peek at its diverse biomes already, we finally have the official bird's-eye of the whole place. 

The Forza Horizon Twitter account shared the Summer version of the in-game map, which gives us a better idea of how things fit together and what kind of races we might run throughout it. 

A couple highlights, to my seasoned Horizon eyes:

The volcano is huge. La Gran Caldera dominates the northwest quadrant of the map, and will probably loom large no matter where you are. It's definitely going to be the jungle gym of the map, where freeroam players zip around to catch major air off of its rim and steep, bumpy sides. I'm excited to take those switchbacks during heavy snowfall. If you can't launch your million-dollar McLaren into the crater, roleplaying as The One Ring as you vault into piping hot magma, I'm gonna be sad.

Street racing might take a backseat. Help me out here, but I'm not seeing any locations built for the tight corners and curves that suit street racing. There are a few smaller towns, but nothing too urban. Up in the northeast there's Guanajuato, though, which might fill the void with some potential hills and complex track layouts. 

Dunes, baby. I really missed them in Horizon 4, but the west coast has a massive stretch of hilly sand that'll make for great offroading. Some of my favorite events in the Horizon games just task players with gunning it to a specific point as fast as and by any means possible, and the dunes will make for some chaotic sprints. 

Otherwise, it's looking like a fairly standard mosaic of farmland, rivers, forests, hills, towns, and beaches. I'm curious to know what kind of scale and topography we're working with here overall though. Playground says it's the biggest Horizon game yet, which could really change what we're looking at here. This might be the most big-ass jumps per capita in a Horizon game yet. Just imagine all the great pics we can get of our vans flying through the sky. Videogames are a force of good. 

James Davenport

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles. 

Read more
Best open world games - A warrior on horseback looking at the Scadutree in Elden Ring
The best open world games
Over the Hill screenshot
The new off-road exploration game from the makers of Art of Rally looks like Mudrunner meets Firewatch, and I can't wait to get behind the wheel
GTA 5 Enhanced
Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced is a bitter-sweet return to Rockstar's money-making machine
RoadCraft
Snowrunner follow-up RoadCraft shows off its roadbuilding and logistics automation in a new trailer, and I'm already in love with its mobile quarry
A person riding a bike through an open world
This open world bicycling game from the developer of Nidhogg is so chill that 'you don't really have to do any of the challenges if you don't want to'
Tokyo Xtreme Racer
Tokyo Xtreme Racer brings heart, soul, and sweet handbrake turns back to the genre just when it needed them most
Latest in Racing
Victory screen of Big Rigs showing infamous "You're Winner" message under a three-handle gold trophy
One of the worst games ever made is coming to Steam, but we won't know how cruel this joke is until we see the price tag
Screenshot from Wreckfest 2
Wreckfest 2 has hit early access for your car-obliterating combat racing enjoyment
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is getting a new mountain next month and a whole bunch more throughout the year, including a game editor
A 1950s pickup truck smashes through a building while being cornered by a police car in Deliver At All Costs
Chaotic courier sim Deliver At All Costs will crash through your letterbox this May, and its latest trailer is even weirder than I expected
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, showing various racing competitors hurtling through the air
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds looks like a return to the over-the-top arcade fun of All-Star Racing Transformed, and we'll get to play it this month
A masked sniper pointing his rifle in Nightmare Kart
Superb Bloodborne-inspired racing game Nightmare Kart is getting free DLC featuring sniper rifles and supercharged penny farthings
Latest in News
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened