Forza Horizon 5 is one of the most beautiful and fun games out there, but recently the best racing game has had some serious issues with its gameplay. During the recent launch, some of the biggest issues that plagued the game involved glitches, crashes, and freezes. Crashes really spoiled the experience and this was especially true for PC gamers, who experienced them much more often than Xbox gamers. Playground Games thankfully fixed the situation and said they are working on fixes. In the meantime, they have provided some very useful workarounds which might be the solution you are looking for. Here's how to fix Forza Horizon 5 crashing and freezing.
How to fix crashes and freezes in Forza Horizon 5
The times when PC gamers have experienced crashes the most seem to happen in the opening sequence of games where you start driving. Whether that's because of the intense graphic tension or the sudden rendering of the footage itself is yet to be determined. The other instance where things can go wrong is during the first loading screen you say when you first start the IP game.
We are aware that some players may experience PC crashes in #ForzaHorizon5 We have quite a bit of info on how to fix it here: https://t.co/MY5MGRZa9S
- Assistance Forza (@forza_support) November 6, 2021
First, you should check our PC specs to see if you can actually handle what the game needs. While lower specs are quite manageable, the recommended recommendations might not be what you have, so be sure to check them out before trying other fixes. Once done, check your antivirus and software for conflicts. Sometimes third-party apps can cause all sorts of problems with certain games and the same goes for firewalls. It is in your best interest to turn off anything like this before restarting the game.
Specifically, Playground Games stated that the following antivirus programs will prevent Forza Horizon 5 from opening.
- Avast
- Avira
- Bitdefender Firewall
- Comfortable Antivirus
- Emisoft Anti-Malware
- Sophos
- Trend Micro Maximum Security
These are just the ones that have been tested, so it's possible that others may cause issues as well. If you have any doubts, just go to your security settings and disable whatever firewall you have before playing.
In addition to these firewall programs, several commonly used third-party programs can also cause crashes.
- Discord
- EVGA Precision
- MSI afterburner
- OBS
- Logitech G-Hub
These have been tested and known to cause crashes as well, so make sure they are all closed before starting your game. This is particularly disappointing with MSI Afterburner as it allows you to overclock your system, but it it's better to have a functional game than to have excellent performance on a constantly freezing and crashing game.
If these options don't work, you can also disable Game Mode in Windows 10 and Windows 11, as this setting is designed to help low quality PCs and if you have a decent rig, it will use up unnecessary power which could to cause problems .
Lastly, if all of the above didn't help, you can reset Forza Horizon 5 settings through Windows 10/Windows 11. Go to your settings app and select apps, then go to apps and features. Once there, click on Forza Horizon 5, select advanced options, then navigate to the reset subheading and select reset. From there the game can be reopened and hopefully the crashes will be fixed.
These are only temporary fixes until Playground Games can determine exactly what is causing the problem here, so sit tight, try these methods and it should stop all crashes and freezes in Forza Horizon 5 so you can enjoy one of the most unique entries in the long-running series.
Forza Horizon 5 is available now on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
