Forza Horizon 5’s 150 Cutscenes Receiving Sign Language Support

Playground Games, the developers of Forza Horizon 5, have already added a ton of accessibility features to the game. The racing title even won the Innovation in Accessibility Award for implementing American and British Sign Language in the game last year. The devs are now looking at expanding this even further by adding support to cutscenes. 

This update is slated for release on March 1, 2022. The Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft, Jenny Lay-Flurrie, elaborated on the many difficulties that the deaf and hard of hearing face daily and stated that the company is committed to making that playing field equal in Forza Horizon 5. 

There are so many people with disabilities and people who are deaf. And there are a lot of closed doors every day. And what I mean by that is that we are consistently and constantly dealing with inequities that exist. The fact that I can just be on the same level playing field as them means I’m not focused on a closed door. 

Jenny Lay-Flurrie

The game was developed with advice and input from those in the deaf and hard of hearing community. So, the addition of sign language seems to be one move in the effort to make the game as accessible to people as possible. 

Cameron Akitt, a consultant with Playground Games on the development of Forza Horizon 5, said, 

It’s a really tiring experience not being able to access your first language. Including sign language is about enabling more deaf and hard of hearing people to have ownership over their gaming experience. 

Cameron Akitt

Playground Games Producer Tarnya Smith said, 

We actually learned that although we think subtitles are great and help everyone, they actually aren’t that helpful for people that are deaf or hard of hearing who rely on signing. It was a big wake-up call for us, and then we realized that this was something we’re really passionate about, and we could really break that boundary and push forward. 

Tarnya Smith

It is heartening to see Playground leading the charge regarding accessibility in gaming. Forza Horizon 5 has been praised for its approach to accessibility, and the devs are redefining the level of accessibility games can offer. 

About Forza Horizon 5

Forza Horizon 5 is the latest installment in the Forza series of racing simulator games. It is the fifth Forza Horizon title and the twelfth main installment in the Forza series. The game has been developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft for the Xbox consoles and PC. 

Forza Horizon 5 is set in a fictional representation of Mexico. Players will race through various kinds of biomes in the game, and will have access to a number of professional racing cars. Several game modes allow players to play online against others, and “The Eliminator” battle royale mode has also made a return from Forza Horizon 4.