Quick answer: Horizon Play is Forza Horizon 6's all-in-one multiplayer hub — it replaces FH5's "Horizon Open" and bundles eight modes (The Eliminator, Hide & Seek, Touge Showdown, Spec Racing, Horizon Racing, Horizon Drift, Custom Racing and Custom Drifting) under one progression track. You level it from 1 to 100 by earning XP, get a Badge every 10 ranks, and each level up to Level 25 also grants Horizon Festival Points toward your next Wristband — so playing online directly pushes your single-player campaign forward. The catch: the back half of the grind is brutal (the community estimates ~1,000 hours to hit Level 100). Below is every mode, every reward, and the fastest legit way to rank up.
If you opened the multiplayer menu in Forza Horizon 6 and saw a "Horizon Play" level bar climbing toward 100, you're looking at the game's third progression pathway — and the one players are most confused about. It's new, it's separate from your Wristband and your Stamps, and the rewards aren't where you'd expect them.
This guide breaks down what Horizon Play is, all eight modes, how the 1–100 leveling system works, exactly what you unlock, how long Level 100 really takes, and the fastest way to rank up without burning out. Every mechanic here is verified against the official forza.net progression breakdown.
What is Horizon Play in Forza Horizon 6?
Horizon Play is FH6's unified online hub. In Forza Horizon 5 the competitive/co-op side lived under "Horizon Open"; in FH6 it's been rebuilt and renamed Horizon Play, with its own dedicated leveling track sitting alongside the two other pathways.
Forza describes it as "our suite of game modes designed to be fun and competitive" — forza.net. The important design choice: online play feeds your offline campaign. You do not have to choose between grinding single-player and playing with friends — Horizon Play levels pour Festival Points back into your Wristband progression (more on that below).
For context, FH6 splits all progression into three pathways:
| Pathway | What it tracks | How you progress |
|---|---|---|
| Wristbands | Campaign / festival access (7 wristbands, ends at Gold) | Horizon Festival Points from races, stunts, photos |
| Stamps | Discovery & collection (7 stamps) | Exploring, Barn Finds, buying/decorating homes |
| Horizon Play | Multiplayer rank (Levels 1–100) | XP from online modes + Skills + mode badges |
Horizon Play is the multiplayer pillar — and the only one with a 100-level ceiling.
All Horizon Play modes explained
Horizon Play bundles eight modes, a mix of competitive PvP, co-op chaos and skill-based racing. Here's what each one actually is:
| Mode | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| The Eliminator | Battle royale | Open-world last-car-standing; win head-to-head challenges to upgrade your car class |
| Hide & Seek | Asymmetric chase | 1 Hider vs. 5 Seekers — one player hides in the open world while five hunt them down |
| Touge Showdown | 1v1 | Two-player head-to-head mountain-pass duels |
| Spec Racing | Skill racing | Everyone runs the same stock car — pure driver skill, no tune advantage |
| Horizon Racing | Free-for-all | Open matchmaking circuit and sprint racing |
| Horizon Drift | Free-for-all | Drift-scored online sessions |
| Custom Racing | Matchmaking | Player-set race rules via matchmaking |
| Custom Drifting | Matchmaking | Player-set drift rules via matchmaking |
Spec Racing is the standout for newcomers: because everyone drives an identical car, it's the one mode where your garage and tuning skill don't matter — it's all you. The Eliminator is the big draw for solo XP grinders since you can queue it any time without a pre-made team.
How Horizon Play leveling works (all 100 levels & badges)
You climb Horizon Play by earning XP for playing the modes above. The structure is simple on paper:
- 100 levels total. You rank up from Level 1 to Level 100.
- A Badge every 10 ranks. As the official page puts it: "You'll unlock additional Badges by completing a set number of each type of Horizon Play game mode and earning Skills," with one badge awarded per 10 ranks — forza.net. So Level 10, 20, 30 … 100 each hand you a visible badge.
- Series Standing Leaderboards track the top performers per mode and reset each time a new Festival Playlist Series begins — so competitive players get a fresh ranking window roughly every four weeks.
The XP curve is front-loaded: early levels fly by, but the requirement per level balloons as you climb, which is exactly why the back end of the grind has become a talking point (covered below).
What rewards do you get from Horizon Play?
This is where most players get tripped up — Horizon Play's biggest reward isn't a car drop at Level 100, it's the Festival Points it funnels into your Wristband track. The key rule, straight from Forza:
"Each Horizon Play level you achieve – up to Level 25 – grants you Horizon Festival Points towards your next Wristband." — forza.net
Breaking down what you actually earn:
- Levels 1–25 → Horizon Festival Points that count toward your next Wristband. This is the real payoff: online play directly advances your campaign progression and gets you to the Gold Wristband (Legend Island + the longest Goliath race) faster.
- Badges every 10 levels — cosmetic prestige markers that show off how deep you've gone.
- Leaderboard standing per mode, reset each Series.
- Skills, credits and Wheelspins earned naturally while you race online (online events pay out the same currency and Skill Points as offline ones).
The honest takeaway: levels past 25 are prestige, not power. Once you've banked the Festival Points up to Level 25, continuing to 100 is for the badges and bragging rights — there's no hidden mega-car at the top.
How long does it take to reach Horizon Play Level 100?
Brace yourself: this is the single most-complained-about number in FH6. While everything else in the game can be 100%-ed in roughly 50 hours, community testing puts Horizon Play Level 100 at an estimated ~1,000 hours of play — a wildly steeper curve than any other pathway.
It's been enough of a flashpoint that a developer publicly acknowledged the pacing wasn't intended and said the team would look into it. So if Level 100 feels impossible, you're not doing it wrong — the curve genuinely is that steep, and it may get rebalanced in a future update.
Practical advice: chase Level 25 (that's where the Festival-Point rewards stop), enjoy the modes after that, and don't treat 100 as a must-do unless you specifically want the final badge. If you do want to skip the worst of the grind, a hands-free account leveling service is the realistic shortcut — that's exactly the kind of multi-hundred-hour wall it exists for.
How to rank up Horizon Play fast
You can't dodge the curve entirely, but you can earn XP far more efficiently:
- Spread across modes for badges. Badges come from playing a set number of each mode type — so rotating through The Eliminator, Spec Racing, Hide & Seek and the drift modes earns badges (and their XP) you'd miss by grinding one mode forever.
- Bank Skills while you play. Skills feed badge progress. Use a high-multiplier car and chain drifts, near-misses and jumps between objectives — the same skill-chain trick that powers skill-point farming works in online free-roam.
- Prioritize The Eliminator for solo grinding. It's the most queue-anytime mode and rewards aggressive play; deep runs pay strong XP without needing a pre-made squad.
- Use Spec Racing to win on skill, not garage. Identical cars mean a good driver places high every race — consistent top finishes are consistent XP.
- Play during active Series. Leaderboards reset per Series, so the start of a new Festival Playlist Series is the best time to climb standings and stack event XP.
- Don't ignore the Festival-Point payoff. Until Level 25, every level is doing double duty toward your Wristband — so front-load Horizon Play early in your save when those points matter most.
Best cars for Horizon Play
Mode dictates the car. A few rules of thumb (full picks in our dedicated guides):
- Horizon Racing / The Eliminator: a meta S1 (Class 800) or S2 (900) all-rounder with strong acceleration and grip wins more than raw top speed. See our best cars by class breakdown.
- Spec Racing: irrelevant — everyone's in the same stock car. Pure practice.
- Horizon Drift / Custom Drifting: a high-angle RWD build is king; our best drift cars list covers the top sliders.
- Touge Showdown: a nimble, mid-weight A-class car beats a twitchy hypercar on tight mountain passes.
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FAQ
What is Horizon Play in Forza Horizon 6? It's FH6's unified online multiplayer hub — the replacement for Forza Horizon 5's "Horizon Open." It bundles eight competitive and co-op modes (The Eliminator, Hide & Seek, Touge Showdown, Spec Racing, Horizon Racing, Horizon Drift, Custom Racing and Custom Drifting) under one 1–100 leveling track.
What rewards do you get from leveling Horizon Play? Every level up to Level 25 grants Horizon Festival Points toward your next Wristband, so online play advances your campaign. You also earn a Badge every 10 ranks, leaderboard standings that reset each Series, plus the usual credits, Skills and Wheelspins from playing. There is no special car reward for hitting Level 100 — past Level 25 it's prestige only.
How long does it take to reach Horizon Play Level 100? The community estimates roughly 1,000 hours, far longer than the ~50 hours needed to 100% the rest of the game. A developer has acknowledged the pacing wasn't intended, so it may be rebalanced. Most players should target Level 25 (where the Festival-Point rewards end) rather than grinding all the way to 100.
Does playing Horizon Play help my single-player progress? Yes. Levels 1–25 feed Horizon Festival Points directly into your Wristband track, so online play actively pushes you toward the Gold Wristband and Legend Island — you don't have to choose between multiplayer and campaign.
What's the fastest way to rank up Horizon Play? Rotate across modes to collect badges, chain Skills with a high-multiplier car, grind The Eliminator for solo XP, win Spec Races on driver skill, and play at the start of a new Festival Playlist Series when leaderboards reset. Front-load it early so the Level 1–25 Festival Points land while they matter most.
Why did my Horizon Play level skip a number (e.g. jump from 11 to 13)? Several players have reported the rank display skipping a level — most commonly missing Level 12. It's a known display/tracking quirk rather than lost progress; your underlying XP is intact and the count usually corrects itself, so it's safe to keep playing. If it persists, a game restart typically re-syncs the level readout.
Is Spec Racing worth playing? Yes — it's the great equalizer. Everyone drives the same stock car, so results come down purely to driving skill, not your garage or tune. It's the best mode for newcomers to climb without spending credits on a meta build.
