Forza is an Xbox-exclusive racing series. Its latest entry, Forza Horizon 5, premiered recently to perfect fan and critical scores. And aside from its latest games, Forza represents perhaps the most successful and beloved series in the racing genre.
Every Forza game is available for Xbox consoles and some for Windows. Because of the Xbox Series retro-compatibility feature, you could play older titles on the newer console.
Moreover, most of the series’ titles are available through Xbox Game Pass. The previous entry, Forza Horizon 4, has an “Optimized for Xbox Series” badge. It means it can take advantage of the powerhouse and work with short load times, better visuals, better performance, and up to 120 fps.
So, with the newer game on our heels, it’s time to check all Forza games in order of release date.
All Forza Games
Forza entries usually sit at the top of the racing and racing-sim genres. That’s because the series looks for high maneuverability, a vast selection of vehicles, customization options, and top-of-the-line cinematic performance.
The experience comes as part of two sub-series within the Forza games. Turn 10 Studios centers on professional events and recipes, the Forza Motorsport series.
Playground Games creates an open-world semi-sim racing game, Forza Horizon. These games revolve around the “Horizon Festival.”
Motorsport entered the market first in 2015. The studio has created a new title every two years ever since.
The Horizon series premiered in 2012. Since then, we’ve seen yearly Forza games: Motorsport debuts in the odd years; Horizon debuts in a couple of years.
So far, we’ve seen seven Forza Motorsport titles, five Horizon entries, and a spin-off. The total is 13 Forza games. Lastly, all entries belong to Microsoft Game Studios.
All Forza Games in Order
Forza Motorsport – 2005
The first series’ game debuted in 2005 for Xbox. Later on, it premiered for Xbox 360 and Windows as well.
Forza Motorsport is a simulation racing game. Players could compete around the globe with real-life cars, real-life courses, and fictional tracks.
The game had an arcade mode for quick races and a career mode. The latter features a series of competitions and cars for long-term play.
Lastly, players could customize the aesthetics and performance of the vehicles. However, colliding with barriers and other cars could damage the speed, acceleration, and handling.
Forza Motorsport 2 – 2007
The second title debuted in 2007 for the Xbox 360. The previous entry features real-world cars, locations, and tracks.
Needless to say, it’s also a racing sim title. The sequel brought events around the globe, a career mode, and quickplay races. Customization options are also present, and the amount of cars goes up to 349 options.
Also, it added a split-screen co-op feature for racing against your friends. Similarly, players could buy and sell in-game cars to other players through Xbox Live.
Forza Motorsport 3 – 2009
Motorsport 3 debuted in 2009 for Xbox 360. It increases the scope of the series with 500 cars, 50 car brands, and 100 race tracks.
The game allowed up to eight racers per track. Another new feature was a car-driving perspective, assisted driving options, drifting, drag racing, and SUV vehicles.
Additionally, the game adds the ability to customize paints for all cars and upgrade any vehicle to race-class level.
Forza Motorsport 4 – 2011
Motorsport 4 debuted in 2011 for Xbox 360. The fourth installment added Kinect support for extra controller options.
Its new feature is Autovista, a game mode where players can fine-tune every inch of a fine selection of cars. Also, the game had a partnership with significant car magazines and brands to deliver 500 vehicles and 26 real-life tracks.
Lastly, the fourth entry greatly enhanced vehicle physics, visuals, and sound design.
Forza Horizon – 2012
The first game of the Horizon series debuted for Xbox 360 in 2012. It focuses on casual street racing and stunts rather than professional races.
The gameplay is about driving off-road into the racing areas. However, some parts of the map are limited. The site is Colorado’s Horizon Festival, a famous street racing event.
The goal is to progress through the competition by winning races and doing stunts to increase popularity. Some stunts are drifting, dragging, jumping over obstacles, driving on two wheels, and similar. As players increase in popularity, new events unlock, like races against planes and helicopters.
Lastly, the game has a new version of the Forza Motorsport 4 engine. As such, it features an even greater performance, graphics, physics, and vehicle models.
Forza Motorsport 5 – 2013
Motorsport 5 debuted in 2013 as a launch title for the Xbox One. the game stays similar to previous entries, including purchasable cars as DLCs.
Compared to previous entries, it features three TV voices as in-game commentators (Richard Hammon, James May, and Jeremy Clarkson).
Additionally, the game added Formula One vehicles, open-wheel vehicles, and other professional options.
Forza Horizon 2 – 2014
The second Horizon title debuted in 2014 for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox 360. Sumo Digital took care of the older-gen version.
The sequel continues the Horizon Festival. However, the setting is Southern France and Northern Italy. That said, the open world is three times larger than the prior map.
Another new feature is dynamic weather and a day and night cycle. Events and competitions could happen at any part of the day and under weather conditions. Similarly, the game added “Bucket Lists.” These are time challenges available solo or via the co-op split-screen mode.
Lastly, the game had an expansion: Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious. With connections to the popular movie franchise, it added nitrous for racing events.
Forza Motorsport 6 – 2015
Motorsport 6 debuted for Xbox One in 2015. Microsoft Studios also released a free-to-play version for Windows 10 PCs in 2016.
The game introduces various gameplay elements. It has rain, night racing, and a new story mode with a 70 hours campaign.
Its single-player mode is about competing in various championships. These are divided by vehicle brands, vehicle era, racing discipline, drivetrain, and other branches.
Lastly, the game had various DLCs with extra cars and customization options. One of these expansions had a Fast and Furious theme, so Dominic Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger became available.
Forza Horizon 3 – 2016
Forza Horizon 3 debuted in 2016 for Windows and Xbox One.
The new setting is Australia, where a recent Horizon Festival occurs. Players can enjoy a new 4-player co-op multiplayer campaign and cross-platform play there.
Other than that, the title improved every aspect of the series. The open-world accurately represents Australia, and the vehicles feel realistic and smooth to drive.
Lastly, the player is the director of the Festival. Instead of earning points, their role is to expand the country’s competition by racing, completing challenges, and doing stunts to lure fans.
Forza Motorsport 7 – 2017
The next entry debuted in 2017 for Windows 10 and Xbox One.
The gameplay stays similar to previous entries, but the amount of cars is massive. It has over 700 vehicles, over 200 customizations, and 32 racing tracks.
Still, some of the tracks and vehicles come from prior Motorsport and Horizon titles. There’re plenty of new additions, though, like a fictional track in Dubai.
Lastly, the game added a dynamic weather system plus customizable drivers.
Forza Horizon 4 – 2018
The fourth entry debuted for Xbox One and Windows in 2018. There’s also an optimized version for the Xbox Series.
The new setting is Great Britain. Aside from the scenario, the next novelty is changing seasons and content-expanding DLCs / updates.
Its gameplay is similar to before, with new scenarios and vehicles. Additionally, the map is a synchronized shared online world, unlike previous maps populated with AI drivers.
Forza Street – 2018
Forza Street debuted for iOS and Android devices in 2018. It’s a tap-racing spin-off for mobile devices.
In essence, you play through a series of challenges and races. Winning competitions unlock better cars and customizations. You play it by tapping: you tap to accelerate, brake, and turbo.
Also, players have a workshop where they can store and tweak their cars.
Forza Horizon 5 – 2021
The latest entry of the Horizon series debuted in 2021 for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.
It became the biggest and most successful launch for an Xbox exclusive title on launch day. It achieved 10 million players during its first week. Currently, on the Steam Charts, it has about 9K players every day, a very healthy number.
The new setting is Mexico, so the open-world is a fictional representation of the American country. Also, it’s the largest map in the series, with diverse locations, natural wonders, Maytan temples, towns, cities, and many places to explore.-
Similarly, the game has a vast amount of vehicles and customization options. The aesthetics become even better with ray tracing support on Windows and Xbox Series.
Other novelties include a localized weather system, a jungle environment, multiplayer mini-games, and an AI assistant for the players.
Overall, according to the player base, Forza Horizon 5 is the best Forza game available.
Every Forza Game in Chronological Order
- Forza Motorsport – 2005
- Forza Motorsport 2 – 2007
- Forza Motorsport 3 – 2009
- Forza Motorsport 4 – 2011
- Forza Horizon – 2012
- Forza Motorsport 5 – 2013
- Forza Horizon 2 – 2014
- Forza Motorsport 6 – 2015
- Forza Horizon 3 – 2016
- Forza Motorsport 7 – 2017
- Forza Horizon 4 – 2018
- Forza Street – 2018
- Forza Horizon 5 – 2021