Forza Horizon 5 crashes and won't launch: Solution how to fix

Forza Horizon 5 early access is here, and the game is available now for anyone who bought the premium edition.

Unfortunately, instead of enjoying the game, a number of players are currently reporting issues with Forza Horizon 5 crashing to the desktop when they are trying to boot up the game.

If you are having troubles launching Forza Horizon 5, with the game either crashing immediately or failing to launch properly, then you should know that this is currently one of the known issues.

Let's check out possible solutions for fixing this problem. Before continuing to read, you should first check the Forza Horizon 5 PC system requirements, and see if your gaming rig has what it takes to run Forza Horizon 5.

How to fix Forza Horizon 5 crashing issue

First thing first, as you might have figured out by now, here we are talking only about the PC version of the game, as that's where the crashing issue is most prevalent. If you are having problems with the console version of the game, this article will not be of help to you, sorry!

Now, let's see what options we have to fix the problem with Forza Horizon 5 constantly crashing.

We will start with the easiest solution, the one reported by many that it immediately worked and solved this problem - simply disconnect yourself from the internet (unplug the ethernet cable or turn off Wi-Fi), and that should work, your game won't crash at boot and you will be able to launch Forza Horizon 5.

Forza Horizon 5 software compatibility

Moving forward, it has been strongly suggested by developers to disable any potentially problematic apps running in the background, which can cause conflict and prevent the game from running normally (or at all).

Developers have provided a list of anti-virus programs that will prevent the game from booting:

• Trend Micro Maximum Security
• Comodo Antivirus
• Sophos
• Emisoft Anti-Malware
• Avira
• Avast
• Bitdefender Firewall

Asides from anti-viruses, Playground says that numerous other applications can cause Forza Horizon 5 to either underperform or fail to start, and they advise to either disable them while playing the game or even uninstalling them.

This is a full list of potentially conflicting applications, according to developers:

• 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

Additionally, the developer states that you should disable any FPS boosting apps, like MSI DragonCenter or RyzenMaster.

Update drivers

The next basic thing you should check is if your GPU drivers are up to date. Both NVIDIA and AMD have released Forza Horizon 5-ready drivers prior to the game's launch, and you should definitely install them before playing the game.

You can check for the latest driver via your GPU apps, or alternatively, you can download them from the links below:

• Nvidia Drivers Download
• AMD Drivers Download

There are, of course, other options you can turn to if you are still having trouble launching Forza Horizon 5. If nothing of the above was sufficient to fix your problems, we advise you to visit the official Forza Horizon 5 support page which offers several other solutions for a possible fix, including disabling Development Mode, resetting the Microsoft Store, reinstalling Microsoft Visual C++ programs, and more.

• Read more: Forza Horizon 5 drifting guide: How to drift, car choice, tuning and more

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Featured image courtesy of Playground Games / Xbox Game Studios.