Fix: Forza Horizon 5 Crashing or Not Launching on PC

Although Forza Horizon 5 is one of the top racing games, many players face the issue of it continually crashing and not launching. They will see the first and second game windows, but these will minimize quickly, and then the game will shut down.

The problem is usually that the system requirements of the game are not met. Secondly, outdated graphic drivers are a major reason for this issue as well.

Before moving on to the fixes, I will first list down the main causes of this problem and the minimum and recommended system requirements to play the game.

Why Won’t Forza Horizon 5 Open on PC?

Old graphic cards, a bug in the game, and a glitch in the Xbox and Gaming Services app are some of the primary reasons why Forza Horizon 5 is not launching on your PC. There are some more causes like interception drivers, using MSI Afterburner, and more.

• Outdated Graphic Drivers: If you don’t keep your drivers up-to-date, they could be the biggest reason why video games don’t run on your PC.
• Bug in Forza Horizon 5: If some game files become corrupted or an in-game bug emerges, it could be why the game does not launch.
• A glitch in the Xbox App: If you use the Xbox app, then you would know that it can have its problems sometimes. Another such instance is when a glitch appears in the app and it affects the performance of Forza Horizon 5.
• Interception Drivers: These drivers are mainly used to do control customization and in particular, to change mouse acceleration. However, they are reported to be one of the reasons why FH5 crashes.
• Enabled MSI Afterburner: This tool is great for overclocking GPUs, but it’s often the reason why some games don’t launch.
• High RTSS Detection Level: Setting a high detection level on Rivatuner can surely limit your FPS better, but the high rate can also be troublesome for a few games, including FH5.

What are the system requirements for Forza Horizon 5?

Meeting at least the minimum system requirements for Forza Horizon 5 is necessary to run the game. However, it’s better if you have the recommended specs on your PC and the best-case scenario would be to have the ideal PC specifications.

Minimum Specs

• OS: Windows 10, November 2019 update (1909)
• CPU: Ryzen 3 1200 or Intel i5-4460
• GPU: Radeon RX 470 (AMD) or NVIDIA GTX 970
• VRAM: 4 GB
• RAM: 8 GB
• HDD: 110 GB

Recommended Specs

• OS: Windows 10, November 2019 update (1909)
• CPU: Ryzen 5 1500X or Intel i5-8400
• GPU: Radeon RX 590 (AMD) or NVIDIA GTX 1070
• VRAM: 8 GB
• RAM: 16 GB
• HDD: 110 GB

Ideal Specs

• OS: Windows 10, November 2019 update (1909)
• CPU: Ryzen 7 3800XT or Intel i7-10700K
• GPU: Radeon RX 6800 XT (AMD) or NVIDIA RTX 3080
• VRAM: 16 GB (AMD) or 10 GB (NVIDIA)
• RAM: 16 GB
• HDD: 110 GB

How to Fix Forza Horizon 5 Not Launching

The best ways to fix the issues are by setting FH5’s priority as high, uninstalling interception drivers, reinstalling Gaming Services, and repairing the Xbox app. Apart from them, some fixes have proven to solve Horizon 5’s launching problem.

Before we dive into the steps, here’s a short explanation of how these methods will be beneficial for you.

1. Change Horizon 5’s Priority: If your screen is stuck when Forza launches or the game windows just shuts down then set the priority of forzahorizon5.exe as High in the Task Manager. Now Forza will be given the preference of CPU and RAM to run faster.
2. Repair Forza Horizon 5: Doing a simple repair in the apps section will refresh the game and remove any bugs that were stopping it from launching.
3. Uninstall Interception Drivers: Although turning off interception drivers might take away some customization options, it will help the game run more smoothly without any crashes.
4. Close MSI Afterburner and Change RTSS Application Detection Level: Forza Horizon is one of those games that doesn’t work properly with GPU overclocking. Therefore, you must disable the MSI Afterburner. Secondly, setting the detection level of RTSS to low has proven to help as well.
5. Repair the Xbox App: If you use the Xbox app to play or connect the game, then repairing it will remove any corrupt files and errors that could be the reason for Forza Horizon 5 not launching.
6. Reinstall Gaming Services App: If repairing doesn’t do the job, then reinstalling Gaming Services will. Uninstall the app and then install it again from the Microsoft Store.
7. Reinstall the Game: Reinstalling Forza Horizon 5 should be your last resort but it definitely solves the problem. Reinstalling means that all your corrupted and broken game files will be removed and reinstalled cleanly.
8. Change Time Settings (For Game Pass Users): This might sound odd, but simply setting the time as “automatic” will help launch Forza Horizon 5 if you are a Game Pass user.

1. Change Horizon 5’s Priority

1. Try to launch the game.
2. Now press Ctrl + Shift + Esc. This will open the Task Manager.
3. Look for the forzahorizon5.exe process.
4. Right-click on it and select Go to details.

5. Right-click on forzahorizon5.exe again and hover your cursor over Set priority.
6. Select High.

7. Now close the Task Manager and run your game.

2. Repair Forza Horizon 5

1. Open Settings on Windows with the Win + I keys.
2. Click on Apps.’

3. Now you’ll be in the Apps & Features section.
4. Locate Forza Horizon 5 and click on it.
5. Click on Advanced Options.

6. Now scroll down and click on Repair.

7. Wait for the repair process to finish.
8. Open your game now.

3. Uninstall Interception Drivers

1. Download Interception.zip from Github.
2. Extract the files in any directory.
3. Click on Start and enter CMD.
4. Select Run as Administrator to open the command prompt.
5. Enter the following command:

   cd <your directory path where install-interception is located>

For instance, it can be like C:\Users\(your username)\Programs\Interception\command line installer

6. Next, run this command:

install-interception.exe /install

7. Now execute the following:

install-interception.exe /uninstall

8. Restart your PC.
9. The interception will be uninstalled and you can launch the game now.

4. Close MSI Afterburner and Change RTSS Application Detection Level

1. Click on the gear icon in the MSI Afterburner.
2. Select Exit from the Settings menu.
3. Or simply click on X at the top-right.

Now for RTSS, you’ll first have to configure it from the MSI Afterburner. Once done, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Rivatuner.
2. Select Low under the Application detection level section.

5. Repair the Xbox App

1. Go to Settings > Apps.
2. Look for Xbox app and click on it.
3. Click on Advanced Options.
4. Now select Repair and wait for it to complete.

Repeat the same steps for the Gaming Services app.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/xbox/forum/all/my-forza-horizon-5-not-launching/fffe9407-44a3-41df-a3d6-63102fea3069

6. Reinstall the Gaming Services App

1. Click on Start and type Powershell.
2. Run it as administrator.
3. Enter the following command:

get-appxpackage Microsoft.GamingServices | remove-Appxpackage –allusers

4. Now enter this command:

start ms-windows-store://pdp/?productid=9MWPM2CQNLHN

5. Press Enter and the Gaming Services page will open on the Microsoft store.
6. Click on Get to install it.

7. Once done, restart your PC.

If you don’t see the Get button after the second command, the do the following.

1. Press Win + R keys.
2. Enter wsreset.exe.
3. This will reset the store cache.
4. Now you can install Gaming Services.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/xbox/forum/all/forza-horizon-5-not-launching-on-windows-10/7ffad5e4-5ba1-44c9-b777-ef25d70b63b3

7. Reinstall the Game

1. Go to Settings > Apps.
2. Scroll to Forza Horizon 5 and click on it.
3. Select Uninstall.

4. Now install the game again from Steam, Ocean of Games, or somewhere else.

8. Reinstall Windows

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Update & Security.

3. Click on Recovery.
4. Select Get Started under Reset this PC.

5. Select Remove Everything for a clean install or select Keep my files options to only remove the downloaded programs.

6. Select Local Reinstall.

7. Select Change Settings.

8. Make sure all three options are turned off.
9. Click Next and then Reset.

10. Select your region and keyboard layout.
11. Follow the on-screen instructions now and enter your Microsoft account.
12. Create a new PIN and select your privacy settings.
13. Follow the next on-screen instructions for customization and after that Windows will start installing.

9. Change Time Settings (For Game Pass Users)

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Time and Language.

3. Turn on the Set Time Automatically option.

If you’re still facing some issues, then submit a ticket to Forza support. Besides, feel free to comment down below and let us know if you’re unable to execute any step.