You can play Forza Horizon 5 a little early with this Game Pass trick

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"Kia Ora to all the people who moved to NZ last night!"

Forza Horizon 5 off road race through jungle with jeep
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Even though it's not out yet, there's a way to play Forza Horizon 5 right now on Game Pass - yes, even if you didn't buy the Premium Edition - and Xbox seems pretty OK with it.

When Forza Horizon 5 Premium Edition launched into Early Access a few days ago, folks started switching regions on Game Pass to New Zealand, where the game was live about a day early thanks to the time zone difference. At the time, Xbox ANZ shared a coy acknowledgement of the situation to Twitter, seemingly giving its tacit approval of the practice. "Kia Ora to all the people who moved to NZ last night," one sarcastic Xbox community manager wrote.

Now, with the full game launching on Tuesday, November 9, you can theoretically use the same trick to play it on Game Pass even if you haven't splurged on the Premium Edition or the Premium Add-Ons Bundle - a number of players report finding success using this method over on Reddit. Of course, we'd never condone any sort of cheating the system, but in this case Xbox itself seems pretty relaxed about the whole thing, so do with that information what you will.

Again, we are not by any means encouraging anything whatsoever, but GamesRadar's Forza Horizon 5 review awarded the sequel the coveted 5/5 stars, praising its groundbreaking visuals, buttery controls, diverse maps, and plenty more.

"As another fantastic entry in what is already a very strong series, Playground Games delivers impeccably detailed graphics, stellar audio design, and smooth controls that all work together to make Forza Horizon 5 an utter joy to play," reads our review. "I'm already itching to get right back into the driver's seat."

It's too early to say for sure, but reviews suggest Forza Horizon 5 could wind up being one of the best racing games out there.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.