Forza is the pinnacle of simulation racing. The Xbox-exclusive series has been around since 2005 with over a dozen entries. It has two ongoing sub-series with a couple of spinoffs in the mix. Each one was made to deliver an authentic racing experience in terms of performance, handling, and speed.

Related: The Best Tracks In Racing Game HistoryEvery entry in the Forza series employs Drivatars. These are driver avatars that adapt to your driving style in order to create more skillful and challenging races. Each game saw this feature improved upon and set the bar very high for racing simulators at the time of its launch.

14 Forza Street

Four cars line up in a bright city in a promotional image for Forza Street.

Forza Street was originally named Miami Street before rebranding to a Forza title. The free-to-play game was released for Windows 10, but was shut down on April 11, 2022. The steering is automatic and left you to only control acceleration and braking.

This is a Forza title not many played or even remember. It had good graphics, but the gameplay was very tedious. It was hard to get excited about new events and locations — that's probably part of the reason it's no longer active.

13 Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast And Furious

Four cars from the Furious 7 film are parked in front of a hotel in Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast and Furious.

Forza Horizon 2 received a separate standalone edition in a crossover with the Fast and Furious film series. The focus for this title shifted to a career mode where you had to work for the Fast and Furious crew. You were tasked with collecting ten cars featured in the Furious 7 movie.

You get to meet some of the stars of the movie, such as Tej Parker, who is played by Ludacris in both the films and the game. This was a fun collaboration, but only really suited fans of the films. As of October 2018, it can no longer be purchased.

12 Forza Motorsport 4

A white racecar zooms near the inner line of a track in Forza Motorsport 4.

Forza Motorsport 4 was meant to be better with the Kinect sensor. At least, that's what the advertising touted. Instead, that proved to be one of its downfalls. Traditional controller gameplay was as smooth as always with Forza games, but the unpredictable Kinect movement features made it feel like it was missing something.

Related: Best Split-Screen Racing Games On Xbox One

You could turn your head to view your car's surroundings. You could even hold your arms out like you're holding a wheel to steer and use voice commands. The camera didn't always pick up your movements, though. Like most Forza titles, it was the premier racing sim of its generation, but it really just seemed like an upgraded version of the year before when using a controller.

11 Forza Motorsport 2

A white Porsche racing vehicle takes a curve on a track in Forza Motorsport 2.

The first sequel in the series was Forza Motorsport 2 in 2007. It received near universal praise for its vehicle handling and customization. The game didn't change much from the original, though, aside from the content.

One big improvement that the developers did add was the damage settings. You could choose to see cars become completely useless or keep it simply where damage is only cosmetic. Although it wasn't the best in the series, it definitely set the stage for the future.

10 Forza Motorsport 3

A line of cars race around a curve in a mountain road in Forza Motorsport 3.

The third installment of Forza Motorsport saw a massive jump from the previous two titles. The Ultimate Collection edition featured over 500 cars and more than 100 tracks. Gameplay features saw the addition of drifting, drag racing, and even rollover crashes.

The single-player mode included hundreds of events on the calendar and let you customize your cars for all kinds of events. Its multiplayer capabilities were all it was lacking. Unfortunately, race sizes were trimmed, and custom public lobbies were non-existent.

9 Forza Horizon

A man approaches a yellow car with two black stripes going down the middle in Forza Horizon.

The Horizon series was supposed to be a simple spinoff, but it became its own subseries of Forza. The first game introduced the fictional Horizon Festival and delivered a vast open world for you to explore with your vehicle.

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The series decided to move away from circuit racing with Horizon focusing on casual street racing. It continued the stellar handling from the Motorsport games, but took it to the highways and side roads of a Colorado-based map. The vast world gave you so much to do in Forza Horizon that any complaints were stifled by the sheer replayability.

8 Forza Motorsport

A blue racecar drifts around a turn in the original Forza Motorsport.

Forza Motorsport is where it all began in 2005. It started the series that would become a flagship of Xbox consoles and the standard for modern racing simulators. You were able to select from over 200 cars and race through many fictional and real tracks.

It gave you control of your vehicles from more than just the driver's seat. You were able to upgrade every car's visual and performance aspects. At the time of its launch, it was called the most realistic console racing game ever. The biggest gripe is how hard it can be to master.

7 Forza Motorsport 5

An orange car sends smoke from under its tires as it takes a turn in Forza Motorsport 5.

Forza Motorsport 5 was the first entry in the series that catered to all types of players. It had very serious and realistic options, including a career mode, as well as more novice-friendly arcade-style races. You could play a whole racing career or jump in for a short session to race your friends.

Content wasn't the game's strong suit, but the artificial intelligence and visual features were the best they had ever been. Every race felt as important as the last with the competitive AI always in play. As an Xbox One launch title, it truly tested the limits of that console generation.

6 Forza Horizon 2

Four white cars line up near a fence on the road with their owners hanging out around them in Forza Horizon 2.

Once Forza Horizon 2 arrived, it was clear that there was a new top dog in the Forza series. The Motorsport titles remained for circuit racing fanatics, but the Horizon series was made for everyone to enjoy. It dropped you right into a stunning version of Southern France and Northern Italy, giving you triple the drive space than the first Horizon game.

Related: Forza Horizon 4: Best Non-Racing Cars, Ranked

The open world was seemingly created without limitation. You could explore for hours without actually joining a race or line up and zoom across almost any road versus the AI. A day and night cycle was implemented and dynamic weather made its first appearance in Forza.

5 Forza Horizon 3

Several cars are packed at a meetup in a lot near the beach in Forza Horizon 3.

Set in a fictional version of Australia, Forza Horizon 3 continued the trend of incredible open-world racing games by Playground Games. This time around, you weren't just forced to race in the Horizon Festival: you managed it with the hopes of expanding the event and gaining fans.

If you thought Forza Horizon 2 was big, number three doubled its map size. The goal was to race, complete challenges, and land stunts to earn enough fans in a certain region. Once that happened, you could unlock new events by setting up a Festival location.

4 Forza Motorsport 6

A blue car speeds along a track in a promotional image for Forza Motorsport 6.

Elements such as rain and racing at night were missing in the Forza Motorsport series. Those returned in Forza Motorsport 6. It made seeing and handling much trickier on its twisting circuit tracks. Along with that came the Stories of Motorsport mode, which offered upwards of 70 hours of gameplay.

This was as close to being simulation-based as the Forza series has ever been. Every car handled like its real-life counterpart and every real track was meticulously detailed. With almost 500 vehicles, this was the most packed Forza game at the time.

3 Forza Motorsport 7

The perspective from the side of a red car is shown as it tries to catch up to other vehicles in rainy weather in Forza Motorsport 7.

As the different Forza titles progress, they just keep getting better. Forza Motorsport 7 took what made the series great and turned it up a notch. Not only did it receive new content, but it included cars and tracks from both Forza Horizon 3 and Forza Motorsport 6.

Related: Forza Motorsport 7: Best Showcase Events

Dynamic weather from the Horizon series was finally added to Motorsport and racer customization made its debut. Even with licensing disputes from some Japanese car manufacturers, Motorsport 7 was overflowing with vehicle choices.

2 Forza Horizon 4

Red and orange cars lead a race between several vehicles, with leaves blowing behind them in Forza Horizon 4.

There's no doubt that the Forza Horizon series changed the racing game landscape. When Forza Horizon 4 launched, no one expected it to improve upon the previous titles like it did. Set in a fictional Great Britain, a route creator and changing seasons were just the tip of the iceberg.

It introduced the ability to purchase in-game houses to store your cars. Horizon 4 also made online play the prominent mode. Up to 72 players were placed in a shared world server, but you could still use the AI Drivatars by going offline.

1 Forza Horizon 5

A red car drives off-road while an SUV gets some air behind it in Forza Horizon 5.

Forza Horizon 5 is the best game in the series — there's no question about that. It reached ten million players in its first week, and the recreation of Mexico is one of the most visually astounding maps in all of gaming. You could run into an active volcano, cruise through the jungle to find ancient temples, or go for a relaxing drive on the beach.

Horizon 5 also introduced many new features: the upgraded weather system allowed you to see a storm coming to either avoid it or drive into it, and minigames arrived in the form of the Horizon Arcade mode. It is an essential play for any Forza fan and Xbox users in general.

Next: Forza Horizon 5: All Driver Stories, Ranked