Forza Horizon 5 hit the market six months ago and received positive feedback for its ingenuity and gaming-friendly features, such as a sign language feature within the game. Developer Playground Games won the AI Assistance Award at the Video Game Accessibility Awards, edging out Far Cry 6 and Psychonauts 2.
With the popularity of the series at a very high level, it's only a matter of time before the next generation is welcomed into the series. Forza Horizon 5 is still in full swing, but reports circling around the next installment for the franchise are sparking up after a job posting was discovered by its developer.
The job listing by developer Playground Games was discovered on GameJobs.co, a website used for gaming-specific jobs, from design and engineering to marketing and human resources. The ad promotes the position of a level designer for the Forza Horizon team and highlights the specific role is to work on an upcoming AAA game. Forza Horizon 5 is one of the best open-world racing games currently available, leading many players to question the timing of the job listing and the structuring of a team to work on a new game. With a only six-month shelf life so far, it's a possibility that developer Playground Games could spend ample time on building the next generation of Forza Horizon.
The listing highlights that the level designer will work closely with the environment artists team to work on whitebox environments, putting a focus on the internal structures of the new game. Forza Horizon 5 became one of the most realistic driving experiences the moment it hit the market, and Playground Games will look to maintain that prestige with future installments. Hopeful candidates will use 3DS Max and other proprietary tools to provide detailed gameplay information to environments they're tasked with, maintaining the core values of the overall gaming experience.
The Microsoft property was introduced in 2001 as a direct competitor to Sony's Gran Turismo series, releasing its first game in 2005, titled Forza Motorsport. Since then, the Motorsport series has received six more installments, with a future game planned. The Forza Horizon series debuted in 2012, with future installments released in two-year intervals. Forza Horizon 5 broke that trend, debuting three years after Forza Horizon 4, and the extra year ultimately paid off as the game's popularity skyrocketed. It's possible that Playground Games is structuring its team to work on the next edition for two-to-three years in order to provide the next wave of racing to Xbox consoles.
Forza Horizon 5 is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Pure Xbox