Forza Horizon 5 will have ray traced audio and much improved engine sounds

Forza Horizon 4 was a brilliant racer with some pretty piss-poor engine sounds, according to parts of the fanbase who really care about engine sounds. Those protests have been loud enough for Playground Games to hear, because Forza Horizon 5 is getting 320 new car recordings on top of what's already in 2019's instalment. The audio is gonna be ray traced too, run at 90 fps, and when you make a change or apply an upgrade to your engine you'll hear it immediately, in real-time.

The ray traced audio sounds like a real game changer: It means vehicle sounds will dynamically change based on the surrounding environment. Traffic sounds will change depending on whether you're in, say, a town, an underpass or on a plain. There's also a thing called granular hybrid looping. It appeared in Forza Horizon 4 for only 15% of the vehicles, but it'll apply to all vehicles in FH5. This tech draws from "thousands of little audio files" to react precisely to how the player is driving, and this is achieved at 90 fps.

The video above is a condensed demonstration of the new tech, and it benefits from being interesting even if you're not an audiophile or engine sound enthusiast. The Forza Horizon 5 release date is November 9. For the full livestream presentation check out the video below.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.