One of the biggest advantages of the Forza Horizon series has always been the sense of reward. You raced through several events, won a new car, spun the Wheelspin, and almost always felt like you made a step forward. It was this balance between fun and progression that brought millions of players back to Mexico in Forza Horizon 5, and now to Japan in Forza Horizon 6.
However, it seems that Playground Games may have gone too far this time in trying to fix the mistakes of its predecessor.
The latest update for Forza Horizon 6 brought new cars and certain changes to the reward system, but at the same time fundamentally changed the game's economy. The changes have hit car collectors and casual players the hardest, as the path to the rarest vehicles will now be significantly more difficult. The biggest change concerns the Auction House. Upon the game's release, Playground Games introduced maximum price limits for certain rare cars to prevent the wealthiest players from dominating the market. Now, almost all those limits have been removed and replaced with a universal maximum "Buy It Now" price of up to 20 million credits. Unfortunately, the idea of 20 million credits is completely misguided, as in previous installments, they were available only to players who put effort into tuning and vinyls of many cars and raised their creator level with their creations. The ability to set a 20 million Buy Now price was a reward for their effort.
On paper, this sounds like a return to classic auctions and greater market freedom. In practice, however, the result is completely opposite. Players who spend dozens of hours in the game daily and possess hundreds of millions of credits have virtually no competition. On the other hand, casual players now have to spend almost all their wealth to win just one rare car. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Playground Games has simultaneously reduced the earning potential of Skill Points through Estate and EventHub creations, meaning fewer Wheelspins, fewer credits, and fewer opportunities to win exclusive cars.
In other words, earning is slower than ever before, while prices are higher than ever.
Rare Forza Edition cars are particularly affected, as they are now almost regularly valued at the maximum of 20 million credits. The problem is that the same fate befalls many less rare vehicles that also reach maximum value due to the new market rules. For players who want to collect a complete car collection, the situation has never been worse. What once represented fun long-term progression now increasingly resembles a second job.
Of course, it should be fair to say that Playground Games hasn't been wrong about everything. Skill Point farms were a significant problem that allowed certain players to gain huge amounts of credits in a very short time and dominate the Auction House. Removing the exploit is a good long-term decision for the health of the game. The problem is that their solution has created a new problem.
It seems that Playground tried to find a middle ground between the excessive generosity of Forza Horizon 5 and an economy that requires more effort from players. Unfortunately, the current result resembles a shift from one extreme to another. Forza Horizon 5 may have rewarded you too quickly, but Forza Horizon 6 is slowly starting to penalize players who simply do not have the time to spend several hours a day in the game. Not every player is a collector who wants to own all 800 cars in the garage. However, the feeling that your favorite car has become practically unattainable is exactly what can kill the motivation to play. And when a game that celebrates cars and the freedom of driving starts to create a sense that you are locked out of part of the content, something is clearly not well balanced.
We hope that Playground Games will carefully listen to community feedback and find a compromise solution. Because fighting against exploits is certainly necessary, but it should not result in the players who play by the rules paying the highest price in the end.
Forza Horizon 6 is still one of the best arcade racers on the market. But when the game's economy becomes one of the main topics of discussion among players, it's time to ask whether it serves the enjoyment of players or just prolongs their time spent in the game.
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