"PS5 players of Forza Horizon 5 must use a Microsoft account, even without cross-platform save functionality."

If you’re looking forward to booting up Forza Horizon 5 on the PS5, there’s one thing you should keep in mind. Even though you’re playing the game comfortably on your Sony console, a Microsoft account will still be required to jump in and do some skids.

This info came out from the official Forza Horizon 5 FAQ released on the Forza support page over the weekend. In it, the Microsoft account requirement is laid out plainly, and you’ll be prompted to link it the first tme you boot the game up.

In addition, once you link a Microsoft account to your PlayStation version of Forza Horizon 5, it’s permanently linked! What that means is that if you choose to un-link the account, you’ll only be able to re-link that same Microsoft account in the future. So keep that in mind when first launching the game!

This isn’t the first time such a requirement has been put in place. In fact, the vast majority of big Microsoft-owned properties that have made the jump over to PS5 have had the same steps in place. Sea of Thieves and Minecraft are notable examples, each requiring a linked Microsoft account to play. So, it looks as though this is a permanent requirement going forward alongside the company’s newfound open aproach to bringing its games to other platforms.

Still, don’t let this get in the way of checking out a genuinely great racing game on your PlayStation. As far as racers go, it’s probably one of the better ones we’ve seen in recent years. Wait, what do you mean it came out in 2021? Oh god.