The company has confirmed that Forza Horizon 5 on PlayStation 5 requires a Microsoft account.
The confirmation is from a FAQ posted on the Forza Support website. “Yes, in addition to your PSN account, you will need to link to your Microsoft account to play Forza Horizon 5 on your PS5. This process begins when you launch the game for the first time on the console.”
This policy matches other Xbox games released on Sony consoles, including Minecraft, Grounded, and Sea of Thieves.
However, it sparked some controversy among some. “It works to ensure that the game and hardware are still accessible at all times,” tweeted, “It basically kills saving the PS5 version of Forza Horizon 5.”
That statement raises concerns that if Forza Horizon 5 suspends an account that links the process without updating it so that future Microsoft can be played without a Microsoft account, it may not be possible for those who purchased it. There are also concerns that if Forza Horizon 5 on the PS5 loses access to a linked Microsoft account for any reason, it will become unplayable. Adding to this concern is the fact that Microsoft will release Forza Horizon 5 digitally on PS5, and there are no plans for a physical disk version.
Xbox Games Series Tierlist
Xbox Games Series Tierlist
Sony fired for forcing Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 PC player to link their PSN accounts, but that decision was reversed after an online backlash. In January, Sony announced that gamers would no longer require players to link their PSN accounts to enjoy some of their PC games, but offered bonuses to those who went.
There was a mix of reactions to Forza Horizon 5 Microsoft account news among the PS5 community, and most players wondered if the game was cross-moving considering forced Microsoft account links.
Unfortunately, according to the FAQ, Forza Horizon 5 on PS5 does not take over saved files on Xbox or PC. Microsoft pointed out that this is the same behavior between the Xbox and Steam versions of the game, with the game files being isolated and not synced.
You can publish UGC on one platform and download it to play on another platform, but it cannot be edited unless it is played in the saved profile that was originally created. Some online statistics, such as leaderboard scores, will be synced when you log in to the game using the same Microsoft account, the company added.
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest Xbox game that launches on rival consoles as part of Microsoft’s Big Multiplatform Push. Hope more where it comes from in the coming months.
Wesley is the UK news editor at Passthecontroller. Find him on @wyp100’s Twitter. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
