Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels Launches Today, Discounted For Xbox Game Pass Members

So there’s no way to download it before release time (6pm for me)?

@spoonman2 - exactly the same here. Hopefully all becomes clear at 6pm.

Didn’t auto update -even under manage add ons. Had to launch game and now it is downloading the expansion

11.6 GB update

Awfully managed MS. With an obligatory update of 10GB+ which we weren't even able to begin downloading until most of the day is over, I feel it very cheeky that this expansion is advertised as "launching today".
As Dusk Falls successfully launched today, this expansion didn't.
It's not the waiting that annoys me, it's the whole marketing nonsense they put behind these things and leave out the utter nonsense between the lines.

Rediculous. Only bought and installed this afternoon ready for a 6pm start. MS have decided to release a 12gb patch at 6pm instead.
I knew there was a reason I dont buy from MS... Its why I hate their OS too, they do not respect your time.
Still, I guess its only another hour to wait. Heres hoping its worth the effort, I was on the fence but couldnt resist 😀

@Titntin the baffling part is that if they knew it comes with a massive multi GB update, why didn't they just allow us to download the update earlier at 00:00 or something? It's the arbitrary wait until 18:00 to only then be allowed to download the update which is the poor part.

@Titntin I mean there was no preload for Stray on PS5 either so you had to wait for a download for that too. And it just went live here in the US about an hour ago.

Having to upgrade some games on PS5 jumping through hoops without Smart Delivery also doesn’t “respect” people’s time either.

Just saying no system is perfect.

@awp69 fair enough, but MS infrastructure should be a lot better than Sony's. From Smart delivery to Pre-Install, MS normally operate at a much higher standard. The fact I checked for updates this morning to avoid this specific issue makes it doubly frustrating.

@Titntin oh and it's two hours you'll be waiting for. The base game also now comes with a mandatory 12gb update as well 🙄

@awp69 Yeah im sure thats true, but it was available here at midday when I looked, so it was dowloaded earlier for me.

What Stray wont do, is wait till I go to play it and then tell me it needs a big update, and thats the bit that sucks!

I just think such a big launch could have been a little better managed is all... its hardly a catastrophe. 😂

@pip_muzz Hopefully thats the update I downloaded earlier today! Otherwise, screw the cars im catting it!

@Titntin 😂😅 from what the other user has said, unless you've got that downloaded already that's another game you're waiting for 😂

Hard to stay cool when it's so **** hot as well.

Edit: oh you've said exactly that, it's already downloaded. My bad. The heat really is killing my brain cells today.

@pip_muzz Im in Brixham, Devon. We've had the storm today that you may get tommorrow. Its not been too hot down here, just pleasent!
I'm interested to see how this will compare with the Hotwheels Unleashed game. I've played that one quite extensively and its a suprisingly fun and extensive racer..

***Well im in the game at 19.05, but I might as well have not bothered! The Forza Horizon 5 servers are down, so you cant play it.... Sigh. Xbox Status confirms, but no eta for them to come back yet..

Sony doing their best to hold MS' beer today by having a PSN meltdown. Just when I was getting genuinely irritated with MS suddenly perspective shines through

@pip_muzz I saw, lol. Fixed now apparently. I finally got into the hotwheels game, yay. Feels fun...

This is well worth getting. The opening introduction race is absolutely gorgeous. Only unlocked upto class A but so far its very fun!

Ugh... 12gb game update followed by 11gb for the dlc.
Will have to wait until tomorrow.
First world problems etc, but a bit irritating... I'm sure MS could find a better way to manage this.

Had a quick spin this morning for an hour or so and it all looks and plays very impressively. The lighting is superb, both from the natural world and also the cars - headlights/brake lights illuminate the environment, other cars and tracks very effectively. The forest biome looks particularly stunning with its cascading waterfalls and surrounding vegetation.

I haven’t played Hot Wheels before and this looks a lot of fun, and of course there’s the usual Forza polish to the graphics & excellent fluidity. Good stuff!