Forza Horizon 6 Players Think Cost-Cutting Is Hurting the Series, and Some Say

The Forza Horizon franchise has been among the most popular and successful racing series of all time, and that good run continued with another well-received entry when Forza Horizon 6 arrived on PC and consoles earlier this year. It carries a sterling 90 average rating on Metacritic from reviews and a similarly strong showing of 8.3 among fan ratings. Overall, it’s clear that developers once again delivered an arcade racing experience that was fun and landed with fans of fast-paced action on the roads.

Popular is not the same as universally beloved, however, and some gamers are saying that the shine has worn off and they’re beginning to see some cracks in the game’s spotless exterior now that they’ve had more time with it. The alleged culprit is familiar, too: gaming executives’ increasing focus on the bottom line of the games they release. 

While acknowledging they enjoyed the game at launch, the post and comments point to a drop-off in the experience the longer they play, with complaints that the continuing content has been disappointing and that in-game decisions seem to prioritize profit over everything else.

“The biggest thing for me is that Forza as a whole went from being a car game made by people who love cars, FOR people who love cars,” said Reddit user Nikobikoo. “Now, Forza is more like a corporate product made to appeal to the widest possible audience, with the cars almost feeling secondary to everything else.”

Gamers point to decisions that make it harder to earn currency without spending real money, or to porting cars from the Forza Motorsport series instead of new car drops, while also noting that valued community projects like the official community and Forzathon are treated as extraneous unless they drive huge revenue.

This is not a sign that the Horizon series is heading to an inevitable decline, or that Forza Horizon 6 is not still a fantastic option if you’re looking for a new game. Even those with issues still say they enjoy the game. Instead, it’s a warning sign that gamers feel the series could be taking its first steps down the well-worn sports franchise path of slow but steady deterioration as market dominance is achieved.