On the back of Xbox Developer Direct last month, we broke down how Forza Horizon 6 is bringing back the 'Festival Wristband' mechanic from the first Forza Horizon game - and how that system aims to alleviate some issues players have had with a lack of meaningful progression in recent series entries. Today, developer Playground Games has gone into more detail on this - whilst also teasing a brand-new side mission to do with being a food delivery driver.
Touching on the Wristband system for a minute here, the team says that "you’ll start the game as a tourist in Japan, with a dream of joining the Horizon Festival". From there, players must "complete the Horizon Qualifiers and then the Horizon Invitational, earning your first Wristband". In total, there are seven Wristbands to earn, and you won't get to compete in the best cars until you've worked your way through that system. "Hypercars can’t be used in Festival races until you’ve obtained at least the Purple Wristband, which is quite late into the game", the team adds.
"With each new Wristband that you earn, you’ll be invited to compete in more events around Japan, and as you rise through the ranks of the Horizon Festival, these races will feature car themes – challenging you to master faster, more thrilling cars.
Completing Festival Events, as well as activities like PR Stunts and Skills, will help you progress towards your next Wristband. Once you’ve earned enough progress, you must complete a thrilling Wristband Event to earn your next Wristband. Obtain all 7 Festival Wristbands, and you’ll become a Horizon Legend."
While competing in faster cars will require folks to work their way through this more classic-sounding progression system - players who just like to meander around and explore will be able to do so meaningfully by engaging with Forza Horizon 6's 'Discover Japan' mechanic. This is another progression system where you earn stamps in a way that's "inspired by Japan’s rich stamp collecting history" - and racking these up will be done while simply "cruising the roads of Japan", "collecting new cars", "playing through Horizon Stories" and even "delivering food as a side hustle". This is the first we've heard of such an intriguing new mission type.
"Whether you’re taking photos while cruising the roads of Japan, delivering food as a side hustle, collecting new cars, or playing through Horizon Stories, you will always be earning progress towards your next Stamp. As part of Discover Japan, you can also compete in Touge Battles and thrilling night-time Street Races, which are the perfect place to race the cars you might not be able to use in Festival Events just yet."
Basically, it sounds as though Playground is trying to cater to both schools of thought when it comes to progression: those who want to earn rewards in a more structured, linear way can engage with the Festival Wristband system, while the team will also be delivering rewards to those who simply want to cruise around and explore via the Discover Japan mechanic. Us? We're just ready to start delivering burgers as a side hustle, and forget about the rest of the gosh darn game.