Forza Horizon 5 addresses you by the name on your Microsoft account, but for some trans players, that has unexpected consequences.
www.thegamer.com
"I Quit The Game Immediately"
Many returning Forza players were surprised when
Forza Horizon 5 greeted them by name. The game pulls it from your Microsoft account so that it can properly say 'Hello'. However, for some trans players, this feature has led to the game deadnaming them - a painful experience.
"I was pretty shocked," one player, who asked to remain anonymous, told me. "I enjoyed the intro sequence and was having a lot of fun, but hearing the announcer call out my deadname completely blindsided me. I quit the game immediately and was close to just refunding it on Steam.
"I really wanted to play with my friends, so I cooled down a bit and spent an hour trying to figure out how to reset my save to remove any chance of it deadnaming me again. I just wanted to reset my save so my deadname wasn't on it. I changed my name in my Microsoft account to something it couldn't voice and tried playing the game again as normal after resetting my save."
Doing this led to the bug appearing. Now, the game calls them by the name of the last NPC they spoke to. "The game didn't handle it gracefully, I guess. Doesn't seem to affect gameplay at all, so I'm fine with it."
For the player who ended up restarting their game, it just takes the shine off it. "I'm really disappointed that they messed up something so basic but crucial to many people's enjoyment of the game."