Barbie escapes Barbie Land, enters Forza Horizon 5 with two crossover cars

rockpapershotgun.com:

Pizza Hut cashier, fashion icon, bestselling toy, game developer, and US Marine Sergeant are some of the accolades that Barbie has accrued over the last six decades (raising serious questions about whether or not she's experienced crunch or the horrors of war.) And now she can add one more to the list, as she’s joining the brilliant Forza Horizon 5. Or more accurately, her beautiful pink car (and Ken's less beautiful grey Hummer) is joining the game.

To celebrate the impending release of the Barbie film next month, the open-world racer is getting two of its starring vehicles. In the film, Barbie leaves Barbie Land in a classic 1956 Chevrolet Corvette EV, while arm candy Ken drives the significantly beefier 2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup. Both are in Forza Horizon 5 now, and available to everyone via the in-game message center.

Mattel are also releasing Xbox-themed Barbie and Ken dolls, while Microsoft are making Barbie-themed gamepads and a custom Xbox Series S. Should you occupy that Venn diagram centre between games enthusiast and doll collector, you can head to the Xbox Wire blog for more details.

Also, did you know that Barbie’s real name is Barbara Millicent Roberts? Seems like that shouldn’t be public knowledge. Regardless, I’m quite excited for her film, which sees Margot Robbie's living doll suffer an existential crisis and leave Barbie Land with Ken in search of answers. Director Greta Gerwig is behind the adaptation, and her past work on the amazing Lady Bird and Little Women films has me hoping that Barbie isn’t a simple toy advert.

The film releases in cinemas starting on July 19th, and the Forza Horizon 5 crossover cars are available now. It’s never a bad time to jump back into the game’s driver's seat -