Can You Play Forza Horizon 5 on Mac?

Forza Horizon 5, with its breathtaking open-world racing and stunning graphics, might not seem like a natural fit for Mac users. Yet, for enthusiasts eager to experience this high-octane adventure on their Apple devices, there’s a ray of hope. Contrary to expectations, several methods exist to play Forza Horizon 5 on Mac. These include innovative solutions like cloud gaming platforms such as GeForce Now and Xbox Game Pass, as well as more technical approaches like CrossOver combined with Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit, and for Intel-based Macs, Boot Camp. After researching each of these options, we’re excited to share our findings and guide you through selecting the most suitable method for your gaming needs on a Mac.

Play Forza Horizon 5 on Mac With These Methods:

If you’re ready to start playing Forza Horizon 5 on Mac right away, go ahead, select an option, and dive into the action. If you prefer to gather more information about what each method offers before making a decision, just scroll down to where we share our experiences with these workarounds.

Forza Horizon 5 System Requirements

To have an optimal gaming experience, especially when using methods like Boot Camp to run the game natively, your Mac should ideally meet or exceed the recommended Forza Horizon 5 system requirements. Since Forza Horizon 5 is a Windows-based game, these requirements are based on PC specs, however, when translating them to a Mac context, you will need a recent model (2018 or newer) for best performance. Intel-based Macs should ideally sport an i5 or i7 quad-core processor (8th generation or newer), while M1/M2 Mac hardware can handle the game but with varying performance. For smoother gaming, ensure your Mac boasts at least 16 GB of RAM, and for Intel Macs, a dedicated GPU like AMD Radeon Pro 560X or better For top-notch graphics. M1/M2 Macs come with integrated graphics which are suitable for moderate gaming, although not on par with dedicated GPUs. Lastly, free up a spacious 150 GB for both your Windows partition in Boot Camp (if used) and the game itself.

For Cloud Gaming Platforms:

If you’re using cloud gaming platforms like GeForce Now or Xbox Game Pass, the hardware requirements on your Mac are practically insignificant since the game runs on remote servers. In this case, a stable and fast internet connection is crucial. A good benchmark would be:

• Internet Speed: A minimum of 25 Mbps; 50 Mbps or higher is recommended for smooth gameplay.
• Mac Model: Any recent Mac (2015 or newer) with a stable internet connection should work.

Remember that running Windows games on Macs, especially high-end titles like Forza Horizon 5, can be demanding. The experience may vary based on your specific hardware and the method you choose to play the game.

Forza Horizon 5 Download Solution With Boot Camp

To download Forza Horizon 5 on Mac, you’ll need the assistance of a Windows emulator since the game isn’t directly compatible with macOS. This entails creating a virtual Windows operating system on your Mac and then getting the Forza Horizon 5 Download file within this newly established Windows setup, which allows you to install the game without requiring a Windows PC or Xbox console.

Curious to give Forza Horizon 5 a shot, we used Boot Camp to run Windows 10 on a 2020 Intel MacBook Pro with 16 GB of RAM, and to be honest, it didn’t run smoothly. The integrated Iris Plus GPU on our MacBook Pro wasn’t really cut out for gaming, and the performance was quite poor. We checked out some videos of others trying similar setups with laptops of the same CPU generation, and they had to resort to low settings and resolutions just to get a somewhat tolerable frame rate. So, it seems like a bit of a struggle for this setup, and we really are into smooth gameplay, so we wanted to explore other options.

What about downloading Forza Horizon 5 on Mac with CrossOver + GPTK?

Many users have attempted to play Forza Horizon 5 on Mac using CrossOver, and the overall experience seems to have been far from satisfactory, to say the least. A significant number of players have encountered a frustrating scenario where the game failed to progress beyond the menu screen; it would launch briefly and then promptly crash back to the desktop, leaving them unable to delve into the gaming experience they were eagerly anticipating. With this feedback, we decided to turn to cloud gaming and test if this is a viable solution, especially since the game is now supported not in one, but in two popular cloud gaming platforms.

Forza Horizon for Mac with Xbox Game Pass

To experience Forza Horizon for Mac in all its graphical glory, you might need a beefier Mac. However, if your Mac is an older model, or there is not enough storage space on your disk to fit the game’s size, there’s a workaround. You can access Forza Horizon 5 via Xbox Game Pass, which is a Microsoft cloud gaming service. The cool part of this service is that your Mac’s specs are less of a concern because the Xbox version of the game is streamed directly from Microsoft’s powerful servers and the minimum Internet speed that is required is just 20Mbps. But, as some users have already shared, Xbox Game Pass operates on a subscription basis, which means that you’ll need to shell out a monthly fee for access to the game.

In our tests, we used a reliable 25 Mbps internet connection and a Chrome browser, and the experience was notably different from the local gaming experience from above. The gameplay was smoother with minimal lag, and the visuals were clear and high-quality. So, if you’re a Mac user who prefers playing with a controller and focuses primarily on Forza Horizon 5, Xbox Cloud Gaming is an excellent choice.

Forza Horizon for Mac with GeForce Now

The addition of Forza Horizon 5 to GeForce Now is exciting news, but some people have been asking for clarification, as there seems to be confusion about which game version they should use. To make things clear, there’s no need to purchase the Game Pass for PC, and you can simply buy the game on Steam or the Microsoft Store. In fact, opting for the latter option allows you to access the “Xbox” version on GeForce Now consistently, even if you decide to exit PC Game Pass.

Much like our experience with Xbox Game Pass, GeForce Now allowed us to stream the PC version of Forza Horizon for Mac while using our preferred mouse and keyboard setup. For a smooth experience, we needed a stable internet connection of at least 25 Mbps, which is slightly higher than the other service we’ve tried. An interesting feature here, however, was the adaptive streaming, which adjusted image quality dynamically during unstable connections to maintain frame rates. However, in our testing, we found this adjustment to be a bit too aggressive. The good news is that the GFN client settings provided a variety of customization options, allowing users to tailor the experience and manage the higher internet speed demand.

Conclusion

The various solutions we explored to bring Forza Horizon 5 to our Mac, showed different results. Our initial attempt, with Boot Camp left us with a less-than-ideal gaming experience, which prompted us to seek alternative routes. Turning to CrossOver + GPTK proved challenging, with reports of players facing crashes and menu screen issues, so our hopes were then set on cloud gaming. Xbox Game Pass demonstrated smoother gameplay and high-quality visuals, but it came with a subscription cost. Meanwhile, GeForce Now offered PC version streaming without the need for Game Pass but demanded a slightly higher internet speed. In the end, the methods to play Forza Horizon 5 on Mac have their own twists and turns, and while the choice ultimately depends on user preferences and setups, our personal recommendation leans toward cloud gaming.