Forza Horizon 5 strikes as a game that prioritizes online and multiplayer racing. That might be true, but you can still play Forza Horizon 5 offline if you wish and not miss out on much.
In the offline mode, real players will be replaced by Drivatars (AI bots) and you will still have access to the majority of in-game activities including core events such as Showcases and Expeditions.
How to Play Forza Horizon 5 Offline
To play Forza Horizon 5 offline, simply launch the game without an internet connection. The game will prompt you that some features will be unavailable in the offline mode, simply skip the message and load into the game.
You can even have your first launch of the game without an internet connection. But if you do that, remember to go online at some point to upload the save to the cloud. We would recommend going online every once in a while just to back up your local save in case the hardware will give up on you.
If you are playing on Xbox, make sure that your console is set as your home Xbox. Because, if you are using game sharing, you won’t be able to play the game offline.
What Content is Available Offline?
There are lots of things to do in Forza Horizon 5 even when offline but you will not have access to some of the features and events.
The following features will be available for you in the offline mode:
- Horizon Adventure events
- Default Festival races
- PR events
- Houses
- Autoshow
- Barn Finds
You can probably guess what comes next. Still, here’s a rundown of content you will not have access to if you decide to go dark:
- Festival Playlist
- Horizon Open (Online Races)
- The Eliminator
- Clubs
- Rivals
- Convoy
- Forza Link
- Gift Drops
- Forza Message Center
- The Horizon Super7
- Blueprint events made with EventLab
- Community Livery Designs
- Community Tunes
- Auction House
- In-game Store
The Festival Playlist is a set of weekly races and challenges that you can complete for additional rewards. When you load into Forza Horizon 5 without the internet connection you will see the Playlist available for you but it will likely be outdated and you will lose your progress when you come back online because the current season will be different.
To be on the safe side, we recommend you avoid doing any Festival Playlist activities while offline in Forza Horizon 5.
How to Play Forza Horizon 5 Solo
But maybe you just wanted to play alone rather than offline? Forza Horizon 5 has the feature of creating a solo session just like in GTA Online. UInlike GTA Online though, you will have access to all of the game’s online features and relevant Festival Playlists when playing by yourself.
To play Forza Horizon 5 solo:
- Open the menu
- Go to the “Online” tab
- Press the “Horizon Solo” button
This will move you to the solo session where, just like in the offline mode, real players will be replaced by Drivatars. To go back to the public session, follow the steps one more time and press the “Horizon Life” button instead.
