Forza Horizon 5is adding new in-game content to honor late motorsport star Ken Block.The legendary rally driver died earlier this monthat 55 in a snowmobile accident which occurred near his ranch in Woodland, Utah.
Apart from being an icon of motorsport, Block was also famous among racing games fandom for his frequent collaborations with a variety of developers. He appeared in threeDirtgames from Codemasters, as well as EA’s 2015Need for Speedreboot, among other games. His last gaming project was announced in 2021 in the form of a multi-year partnership withCSR Racing 2, which is still widely considered to be amongthe best mobile racing games ever made. Prior to that, Block’s Hoonigan cards were featured in every one of Playground Games’Forza Horizontitles sinceFH3, as well asForza Motorsport 7.
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The British studio now intends to honor the late motorsport star with some free content that’s set to release as part of a March seriesupdate forForza Horizon 5. Apart from cosmetics in the form of a Ken Block Racing Suit and an accompanying helmet, fans will also receive the Hoonigan Ford “Hoonicorn” Mustang and a new player badge. Ken Block-inspired Accolade objectives will be part of the incoming content drop as well, together with a new Forza Link chat phrase. The March update will also mark the return of the 2016 Hoonigan GYMKHANA 9 Ford Focus RS RX, which will be given out asForza Horizon 5’supcoming Seasonal Championship reward.
WhileForza Horizon 5is the first game to honor Block in this manner, it might not be the last, given the motorsport icon’s extensive racing genre legacy. His gaming industry ties are also underlined by the fact that some current and former Codemasters employees took to social media to pay tribute to the late rally star earlier this month, reminiscing about their memories of collaborating with Block onDirt 2,Dirt 3, andDirt: Showdown. Ex-Codemasters Art Director Phil Warner compared his tragic death with the loss of Colin McRae, whileDirt 3Lead Programmer Andrew Dennison revealed that Block used to visit the British studio to playtest the hit 2011 game and offer valuable feedback during development.
ManyForza Horizon 5players have been paying tribute to the former Hoonigan Racing Division principal by sharing elaborate car designs based on his famous racing team over the course of this month. This virtual homage wave also reached other online communities, as evidenced by the recently surfacedGTA Onlinecar collection inspired by Ken Block.
Forza Horizon 5is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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