How to Start a New Game File in Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Consoles

Unlike many single-player games, Forza Horizon 5 does not feature a simple “New Game” option in its main menu once a player has established their initial progress. For those wishing to experience the opening drives and festival setup again, or simply to start their career from scratch, the process requires working outside the game’s standard menus. There are two primary methods to start a completely new game file on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles. One method is safe and preserves your original progress, while the other is permanent and involves deleting all existing data.

Choosing the right method depends entirely on whether you want to keep your old save file. Using a different Xbox profile creates a separate, parallel playthrough, leaving your main account’s garage and progress untouched. Deleting your save file, however, is an irreversible action that completely erases everything you have accomplished on your current profile.

Starting a New Game with a Different Profile

This is the recommended method for players who want to start over without losing their valuable car collection and campaign progress. It allows you to maintain your original save file on your main Xbox profile while starting a fresh adventure on a secondary profile. This can be an existing alternate profile or a temporary guest account. The process is initiated from within the game itself.

1. Launch Forza Horizon 5 and load into the game world with your current profile.
2. Once you have control of your car, press the Menu button (the button with three horizontal lines) on your controller to bring up the pause menu.
3. The pause menu is organized into several tabs, such as “Campaign,” “Online,” and “Creative Hub.” On the initial “Campaign” tab, navigate to the “Settings” tile and select it.
4. Inside the Settings menu, you will see a list of options for gameplay, controls, and audio. At the bottom of the screen, there will be a button prompt for “Change Profile.” On a standard Xbox controller, you must press the X button to activate this function.
5. A system-level notification will appear asking for confirmation: “You are about to change the active profile. This will restart the game. Do you want to continue?” Select “Yes” to proceed.
6. The game will then display the Xbox profile picker screen, titled “Who are you?” Here you can select another existing Xbox profile on your console. If you do not have a second profile, you can choose “Add new” to create a new Microsoft Account or select “Add guest” to create a temporary profile. A guest profile’s progress will be deleted once that user signs out, making it suitable for a brief session but not a long-term second playthrough.
7. After selecting the new or guest profile, a “Profile Changed” screen will appear. Press the A button to continue. Forza Horizon 5 will then restart. Because this new profile has no associated save data for the game, it will trigger the initial startup sequence, allowing you to begin a brand new game file from the very beginning.

Your original save file on your main profile remains completely safe and can be accessed at any time by repeating the profile-switching process.

Starting a New Game by Deleting Your Save File

This method should be considered a last resort. It will permanently delete your entire Forza Horizon 5 progress on your current account, including all cars, credits, accolades, and story progression. This action is irreversible. If you are certain you want to erase everything and start over on the same Xbox profile, you must manage the game’s save data directly from the console’s dashboard.

1. Ensure Forza Horizon 5 is completely closed. If the game is running or suspended via Quick Resume, press the Xbox button on your controller, highlight the game tile, press the Menu button, and select “Quit.”
2. From the Xbox dashboard, press the Xbox button to open the Guide menu that appears on the left side of the screen.
3. Navigate down and select “My games & apps,” then choose “See all” on the next screen.
4. This will open your full library. In the menu on the left, make sure “Games” is selected. This will filter your library to show only game titles.
5. Scroll through your list of installed games and highlight Forza Horizon 5. Do not launch it. Instead, press the Menu button on your controller to open a pop-up context menu.
6. From this menu, select “Manage game and add-ons.”
7. On the management screen for Forza Horizon 5, you will see options for the installed game, its add-ons, and more. Navigate to and select the “Saved data” box.
8. The next screen will show the saved data associated with the game. You will typically see your Xbox profile listed with the corresponding save file size. There may also be a small file for “Reserved space,” which should not be deleted.
9. Select your profile’s save file. This will bring up a final confirmation prompt with two distinct options: “Delete from console” and “Delete everywhere.”
10. This choice is critical. Selecting “Delete from console” only removes the local save file stored on your Xbox’s internal drive. The next time you launch the game, the Xbox network will automatically download your backup save from the cloud, restoring your progress. This option will not start a new game. It is primarily used for troubleshooting corrupt local data.
11. To start a new game, you must select “Delete everywhere.” This option erases both the local save file on your console and the backup copy stored in the Xbox cloud. The system will show a final, stern warning that this action cannot be undone. After confirming, all your Forza Horizon 5 data for that profile will be permanently gone. The next time you launch the game, it will not find any existing save data and will begin a fresh game.