Forza Horizon 6 is the racing story this week — Polygon’s coverage of the Shibuya Crossing drift event has been the most-shared snippet from the latest reveals. The catch is that 6 is a console-first launch window, and Horizon 5 is what’s actually on Steam right now. If you’ve spent enough time in Mexico’s hills and you want the next car-and-festival run, these are the seven Forza Horizon 5 alternatives on PC we’d put on a queue.
The picks balance arcade festivals, sim-leaning open world, and the destruction-heavy outliers that have always lived in Horizon’s shadow.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Price (approx.) | Forza Horizon similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Crew Motorfest | Ubisoft’s direct Horizon answer | ~$50 | Very high |
| Need for Speed Heat | Police chases, day/night loop | ~$30 | High |
| The Crew 2 | USA-wide open world, vehicles beyond cars | ~$30 | High |
| BeamNG.drive | Sandbox driving with deep physics | ~$25 | Medium |
| Wreckfest | Destruction-heavy arcade racer | ~$30 | Medium |
| Assetto Corsa | Sim-leaning open road, modded tracks | ~$20 | Low |
| Burnout Paradise Remastered | Classic open-world arcade crashing | ~$20 | Medium |
Why Horizon 5 starts to feel finished
It’s been on the market long enough that nearly every patch has shipped. Players move on because:
- The seasonal loop repeats. Horizon’s spring-summer-autumn-winter playlist is well-built but predictable after two real-world years.
- The car list peaked. New cars trickle in, but the headline reveals are over.
- The map is internalized. Once your muscle memory knows the cliffside shortcut, the exploration thrill flattens.
- Online is sparse on PC at off hours. The console crossplay helps, but late-night PC sessions are emptier than they used to be.
The list below assumes Horizon 5 is still your reference point and you want next-up driving for PC.
The 7 best Forza Horizon 5 alternatives on PC
The Crew Motorfest — best direct answer
The Crew Motorfest is Ubisoft’s most honest attempt at a Horizon clone, and the playlists on Oahu mirror Horizon’s seasonal structure closely enough that the swap feels natural in an evening. Cars, bikes, F1 cars, off-road vehicles, planes, and boats all share the same map. Crossplay across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox means lobbies stay populated.
Where it falls short: Ubisoft Connect is mandatory. The Year 1 content gates take longer to clear than Horizon’s seasonal events.
Pricing:
- Free: Periodic free weekends
- Paid: One-time purchase, Year passes sold separately
- vs Forza Horizon 5: Same festival energy, smaller map, more vehicle types
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Closest like-for-like swap on the list.
Need for Speed Heat — best police chase loop
Need for Speed Heat is the Ghost Games entry that brought the day/night structure back. Daylight is sanctioned racing for money; night is illegal events for rep, with cops scaling as your heat level climbs. The Palm City map has the right kind of compact density — you can cross it without your attention drifting.
Where it falls short: EA App login required. Microtransactions for cosmetics linger; the campaign is short.
Pricing:
- Free: EA Play subscription includes it
- Paid: One-time purchase, deep sales
- vs Forza Horizon 5: Smaller, denser, with cops
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The Need for Speed entry to start with if you skipped the last decade.
The Crew 2 — best USA-spanning sandbox
The Crew 2 is Motorfest’s older sibling, but the scope is the actual sell — Ivory Tower’s reduced-scale United States is wider than any Horizon map. Switching mid-jump from a car to a plane to a boat is the gimmick that still works, and the Hybrid update kept the core loop playable solo.
Where it falls short: Older systems and UI than Motorfest. Online sometimes routes you back to crowded zones you’d rather avoid.
Pricing:
- Free: Periodic free weekends
- Paid: Heavily discounted year-round
- vs Forza Horizon 5: Wider scope, looser physics, much cheaper
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Best cheap stand-in for the Horizon loop.
BeamNG.drive — best driving sandbox
BeamNG.drive is not Horizon. It is the soft-physics driving sandbox the modding community keeps treating as an operating system. The vanilla Italy and West Coast maps are large enough for open-world cruising, and the crash simulation is the best on the market.
Where it falls short: No traditional career mode. Wheels-on-the-ground driving is the point, not racing other people.
Pricing:
- Free: None, occasional free weekends
- Paid: Early access purchase that has been updating for years
- vs Forza Horizon 5: Different goal entirely, but irreplaceable as a complement
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Buy this in addition to a Horizon alternative, not instead of one.
Wreckfest — best destruction-heavy arcade
Wreckfest is the spiritual successor to the FlatOut games — destruction derbies, banger racing, and a sliding scale between “compete and finish” and “crash everyone off the track first.” The career structure is enough to give purpose to a few evenings, and the moddable car list keeps it alive.
Where it falls short: No open world. Race-only loops. Wreckfest 2 has been teased but isn’t here yet.
Pricing:
- Free: Periodic free weekends
- Paid: One-time purchase
- vs Forza Horizon 5: Track-focused, crash-positive, smaller scope
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick this when your friend group wants to chase mayhem, not lap times.
Assetto Corsa — best sim-leaning open road
Assetto Corsa sits at the other end of the spectrum from Horizon, but the modded open-road maps (Shutoko, Touge collections, Nordschleife) give you something Horizon can’t: an actual sim chassis under your foot on a freely explorable road. Modding setup takes a Sunday.
Where it falls short: Steep learning curve. Default content list is small; the experience depends on mods.
Pricing:
- Free: Free DLC weekends occasionally
- Paid: Base game cheap, Competizione sold separately for circuit racing
- vs Forza Horizon 5: Different genre, deeper physics, less spectacle
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The pick for anyone who wants their wheel and pedals back.
Burnout Paradise Remastered — best classic arcade
Burnout Paradise Remastered is the open-world arcade racer Horizon explicitly took notes from. Paradise City is smaller than Mexico but denser; every street corner has a Showtime opportunity. The remaster includes the Big Surf Island and Cops & Robbers DLC packs.
Where it falls short: Aged interface and event flow. Online is quieter than a current-gen launch.
Pricing:
- Free: None
- Paid: One-time purchase, very cheap on sale
- vs Forza Horizon 5: Older, simpler, the original blueprint
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Required reading for any Horizon fan who never played it the first time.
How to choose
- Pick The Crew Motorfest if you want Horizon-shaped fun right now
- Pick Need for Speed Heat if you miss cops chasing you
- Pick The Crew 2 if the scale of the map matters most
- Pick BeamNG.drive if you want to crash deliberately
- Pick Wreckfest if your group wants to crash competitively
- Pick Assetto Corsa if your wheel is on the desk
- Pick Burnout Paradise Remastered if you want the classic for under $10
- Wait for Forza Horizon 6 if you can hold out until it lands on Steam later in the cycle
FAQ
What is the closest game to Forza Horizon 5? The Crew Motorfest. Same festival structure, similar progression cadence, comparable car selection.
Are there free Forza Horizon alternatives on PC? None permanently free at this scale. The Crew Motorfest and Need for Speed Heat both rotate through free weekends; Wreckfest’s free weekends are regular.
Is Forza Horizon 5 still worth buying in 2026? Yes. Discounts are deep, the content is all there, and crossplay keeps lobbies populated.
Will Forza Horizon 6 come to PC? Microsoft’s first-party titles ship day-and-date on PC. The exact PC release window depends on the global rollout, but PC players are not skipped.
What is the best PC racing game with a wheel? Assetto Corsa Competizione for circuit, Assetto Corsa with mods for open road. Wreckfest for arcade.
