by 
In the build up to Forza Horizon 6, much has been said about the game's progression after concerns about campaign structure following Forza Horizon 5 - and just ahead of launch, the team at Playground Games has gone into more specifics about how you'll progress at Horizon Japan.
The studio has split progression into three main areas: Wristbands, Stamps and Horizon Play. Wristbands you'll have heard about before - they're a returning feature from the first Forza Horizon and are all about completing festival-based races and events.
"Wristbands are your ticket to be invited to new events at the Horizon Festival, and as you earn new Wristbands, you will get to participate in races with higher car class restrictions. Official events of the Horizon Festival include Road, Dirt and Cross Country Races, each with specialized car themes, as well as Time Attack Circuits, Drag Meets, PR Stunts and Bonus Boards. To receive your first Wristband, you will need to complete the Horizon Qualifiers and the Horizon Invitational.
Once you’ve accumulated enough progress, a new Wristband Event becomes available. These include our classic Showcase Events and new Horizon Rush obstacle challenges – you must complete them to obtain your next Wristband. In total, there are 7 Festival Wristbands to earn in Forza Horizon 6. The Gold Wristband is the most coveted of them all, as that will allow you to enter Legend Island and compete in special new events, including our longest Goliath race yet!"
Meanwhile, Stamps are handed out for moving through the 'Discover Japan' track, which is all about exploring the open world and finding new things that aren't directly tied to the festival:
"Everything you find in Japan earns you progress towards your next Stamp. That includes things like collecting and customizing cars, photographing murals, and smashing mascots. It also means finding landmarks, joining Mei on her day tours of Japan, completing Street and Touge Races, earning additional income at the Raku-Raku food delivery job, and so much more.
Collecting Stamps for your Collection Journal unlocks Barn Find Rumors and new homes to buy around Japan. Once you’ve obtained your first Stamp, Mei will introduce you to her grandparent’s long abandoned Estate, where you can build and decorate directly in the open world to create the home of your dreams. There are 7 Stamps to obtain in Discover Japan, and these are inspired by Japan’s rich stamp collecting history."
Finally, Horizon Play is all about getting online and teaming up — or competing against — fellow Horizon Festival goers. You'll be rewarded with XP for doing pretty much any activity in multiplayer:
"Horizon Play is our suite of game modes designed to be fun and competitive. These include The Eliminator: our open-world battle royale mode; Hide & Seek: a game of chases where the Hider must stay hidden from their opponents; Touge Showdown: two-player head-to-head championships with three races; and Spec Racing: a new mode where everyone is racing stock cars and the only differentiator is pure skill. In addition, there are standard free-for-all Horizon Racing and Horizon Drift modes, and if you have preferences in the cars you are driving, then custom matchmaking is the place to be. In Custom Racing you get to set the car class and race type, while Custom Drifting allows you to choose the car class and drive type.
Horizon Play also introduces its own levelling system. You’ll earn XP by simply playing in Horizon Play game modes, obtaining a new Badge for every 10 ranks you achieve – up to Level 100. You’ll unlock additional Badges by completing a set number of each type of Horizon Play game mode and earning Skills. There is also some crossover with your campaign progress too. Each Horizon Play level you achieve – up to Level 25 – grants you Horizon Festival Points towards your next Wristband. There are also additional rewards you can obtain from engaging with Horizon Play that will benefit your campaign progression."
However you like to play your Forza Horizon, then, you'll be covered in FH6 - and it sounds as though Playground is taking things pretty seriously in terms of pleasing each type of player and how they want to progress. We'll see you at the Horizon Japan festival pretty soon, folks!