The Forza franchise has been busy over the last few weeks. First, Microsoft revealed the October 10 release date for the Forza Motorsport reboot, and then Forza Horizon 5 launched its Upgrade Heroes event which include new missions, cars, and much more. That crossover with Donut Media might not be the only thing FH5 players get in the coming days though. A new leak has recently been spotted that seems to point to Forza Horizon 5 having a crossover with Barbie ahead of the movie’s launch on July 21.ย
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As first spotted by Insider Gaming, the leak comes courtesy of Don Joewon Song, who is a racing YouTuber that focuses on Forza Horizon 5 for his channel. Evidently, a menu error let Song see that the developers at Playground Games have added Barbie-branded versions of the EV Corvette and Hummer EV Truck to the backend. Of course, these cars are currently unobtainable, but they seem to exist in the game’s files unless this is an elaborate hoax.
The collab between Forza Horizon 5 and Barbie might seem like an odd one at first glance, but it’s actually not that surprising. After all, the Forza series has crossed over with all kinds of properties in the past. It’s been most notable with Lego and Hot Wheels, but they’ve also partnered with James Bond, Halo, and even Fallout. Considering that the Barbie line has featured the titular character’s Corvette for decades, it’s not too wild to see it pop up in Forza, especially if its release is going to line up with the movie’s opening weekend.
One that will be worth keeping an eye on is how much the eventual Barbie crossover pack costs. Forza Horizon 5 just launched both a free update and a paid Car Pack today, so asking players to shell out even more money for what is basically a novelty might feel like a little much, especially with Forza Motorsport just around the corner. That said, it’s good to see Playground Game continuing to support Forza Horizon 5. It’s been out for a few years now and the team is also working on Fable, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them slow down by this point. Instead, the game looks alive as ever, though we assume Motorsport’s release will cause them to pump the brakes here in a few months.
