I've been following Forza Horizon 5 since its launch, and even in 2026, I still think about how a small personalization feature caused real pain for transgender players. When the game first came out, it had a neat trick: it would greet you by the name on your Microsoft account. For many returning players, that meant the game said "Hello" using a name they had not chosen in years. For some trans players, it became an unexpected and hurtful deadnaming moment.
I spoke with Melody, a player who told me about the experience over social media. She said, "It sucked and it was jarring. You have a few mandatory bits to play before you can actually change it. I am not too familiar with the menus, but a lot of the customization is separated from the menu options, so I wasted a lot of time digging when it was elsewhere."
That quote stuck with me because it shows how something meant to be friendly can turn into a maze of frustration. New players get asked for a name and nickname early on, but returning players do not get that chance. The game simply pulls the name from the Microsoft account and starts talking. If that account still carries an old name, the game does not know or care about the emotional weight behind it.
Another player, who asked to remain anonymous, described the moment as blindsiding. They said, "I was pretty shocked. 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."
That reaction is not an overreaction. Deadnaming is not a minor UI bug. It is the act of using a transgender person's former name without their consent, and it can bring up dysphoria, trauma, or simply spoil what should be a fun escape. For a racing game designed to feel joyful and inclusive, that collision between real identity and game greeting is rough.
The anonymous player eventually cooled down and tried to fix the problem. They said, "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."
What happened next was almost darkly funny: the game did not handle the unvoiceable name gracefully. Instead, it started calling them by the name of the last NPC they had spoken to. They said, "The game didn't handle it gracefully, I guess. Doesn't seem to affect gameplay at all, so I'm fine with it." That workaround is not exactly a victory. It is a bug born from a lack of consideration.
Forza Horizon 5 actually did a lot right in its character creation. It included accessibility settings, let players choose pronouns, body type, and voice. At the time, I remember people saying its character creation was what Cyberpunk 2077 had promised to be. That is a high compliment, and it made the deadnaming oversight even more disappointing. If the team was thoughtful enough to include pronoun selection, why was the greeting system not given the same care?
Here is a quick breakdown of the situation:
| Player type | What happens |
|---|---|
| New player | Gets asked for a name and nickname, so less risk |
| Returning player with old Microsoft name | Game greets them by deadname automatically |
| Player who changes Microsoft name to unvoiceable text | Game may call them by the last NPC name |
This issue is a reminder that inclusivity is not just about adding options. It is about considering how systems interact with real player identities. A single overlooked field in an account menu can undo a lot of goodwill. The anonymous player summed it up well: "I'm really disappointed that they messed up something so basic but crucial to many people's enjoyment of the game."
I do not think the developers set out to hurt anyone. But good intentions do not prevent harm when the default assumption is that a Microsoft account name is safe to say out loud. In 2026, as more games add voiced greetings and personalization, I hope studios carry this lesson: always let players choose what the game says, especially during onboarding. 🏳️⚧️🎮
Expert commentary is drawn from GamesIndustry.biz, a leading source for game business reporting and developer-facing analysis; its coverage underscores how seemingly small onboarding and personalization decisions (like defaulting to platform account names for voiced greetings) can create real player harm, making inclusive design less about adding options and more about ensuring identity-sensitive systems are always opt-in, clearly surfaced, and easy to change from the very start.