Now that Forza Horizon 5 is finally here, the last thing you're going to want to deal with is the game crashing on startup. While it's hard to say how widespread the issue is, it appears to affect the PC version rather than console—which perhaps isn't surprising when you consider the variation in components and builds across the platform.
If you haven't already, it's worth double-checking the Forza Horizon 5 system requirements to make sure your machine can run it. Assuming that's all good, there are some fixes you can try to get it up and running on your PC. Here's what you can try to stop Forza Horizon 5 crashing on launch.
Forza Horizon crashing on startup: Fixes to try
The good news is that Playground Games is aware of the issue and has several fixes to try. I've summarised these below, along with a list of software that can cause problems with the latest Forza instalment, further down.
- Log into Windows and launch the game as an Administrator
- Check for Windows 10 updates
- Check what software you have running (see below)
- Deactivate Windows Defender (but don't forget to turn it back on)
- Turn off Windows Game Mode
Software to check before launching Forza Horizon 5
Specific software is known to conflict with Forza Horizon 5, so check the list below and disable any installed. In the case of antivirus or anti-malware software, make sure you re-enable it as soon as you've finished playing.
Forza Horizon 5 won't run with the following software:
- Trend Micro Maximum Security
- Comodo Antivirus
- Sophos
- Emisoft Anti-Malware
- Avira
- Avast
- Bitdefender Firewall
- AVG
These applications can cause instability and crashing in Forza Horizon 5:
- Logitech G Hub
- MSI Afterburner / Riva Tuner Statistics Server
- EVGA Precision
- OBS
- Xsplit
- Discord
- MacType
- Warsaw Banking App
- Wallpaper Engine
- A-Volute Sound studio
- Nahimic Audio
- Sonic Audio
Some power monitoring software may also cause problems so if none of the above fixes resolve the crashing issue, it's worth turning those off too.
I'll be sure to update this guide if we get more information.
