Forza Horizon 5 (Steam) crashes seconds after launch

The problem here is ascertaining if it's the game itself or your system....FH5 is problematic so it could be the game at fault.

I am not sure how you went about upgrading to Windows 11 but, assuming you did an in-place upgrade (upgrading through your Windows install), personally, I'd install a clean version of Windows 11 and reformat the primary drive to remove everything...basically take your system back to a factory fresh install, so to speak. It is quite a drastic step, sure, but is the best way to work out if it's your system or the game....I realise this may not be a step you want to take for one game which would be fair enough.

The process is this:

Back up any important file etc

Go here: Windows 11 and download the tool to a USB drive (needs to be 16GB). Ideally the download and install should be done on a computer not having issues...no worries if you don't have access to another one.

Install Windows as per the instructions, making sure to choose the format option to wipe everything

Once Windows is installed, go to the Windows Update area and check for Updates...restart the system when prompted etc. When it's finished updating, go back and check for updates again.

Once it has updated, download the driver for your Graphics Card directly from whichever manufacturer it is (AMD or NVIDIA)...just select the model of your GPU from the dropdown boxes on the relevant page:

NVIDIA

AMD

If your card is NVIDIA, then choose custom install at the relevant point and deselect HD Audio drivers....it has been problematic in the past and they aren't needed.

Restart your system once the drivers are installed.

At this point, don't install anything else other than what is needed to run the game....so, obviously the game and Steam (no clue if you need the Xbox App for WIn 11 to play games via Steam).

Now try running the game: If the game works as it should, then something on your system was interfering and you can start the process of installing and testing your programs etc one at a time to see if they cause an issue. If the game still doesn't work, then it is the game itself. Fingers crossed it works

I have run sfc/scannow a few times already. And i originally was having this issues on win10, but upgraded to 11 to try and fix it, to no avail. I have also tried disabling every extra program that I can, but so far none of it has worked.

What steps have you already tried? Just so we can avoid recommending things already done.

Also, which Windows version are you running? 10 or 11? I ask as processes can be slightly different

If you haven't, try opening an Elevated Command Prompt (Windows icon bottom left of screen, start typing "command prompt", click on "run as administrator" when it appears) and type:

sfc/scannow

That will scan system files and attempt any repairs if needed.

Beyond that, if you run 3rd party internet security (non-Windows programs like Norton, Avast etc), try disabling them...same for any gaming software such as Razer products. I have even seen mention where having Armoury Crate can cause this issue.

The problem is the error doesn't always point to something specific.

Ok well for anyone that has been having an issue like this, I was able to figure it out. If you are running a program called vjoy, Forza does not play nice with it. All I had to do was disable any virtual game pads I have with vjoy and it works.

Glad to hear you have resolved it.

I will admit, controller emulation software was not something I had considered...however, it doesn't surprise me at all....FH5 is so badly optimised that pretty much anything can cause it issues

Hi Bjam1491,

According to this article, in-game crashes like the one described in this post require the help of Turn 10 support. You can even submit a post to the Forza forums for additional help specific to Forza issues.

Best regards,

XBF Drew