- The sun crests over the dusty peaks of Mexico’s Gran Caldera, and I’m behind the wheel of a 1997 Mazda RX-7, engine snarling, tires chewing gravel. Five years after its launch, Forza Horizon 5 still holds my heart in its sun-scorched hands. Back then, I was just another rookie, overwhelmed by the sheer sprawl of Playground Games’ open-world masterpiece. Now, as a professional driver and guide, I’ve unlocked every secret the Horizon Festival has to offer—and I’m about to take you on a journey from fledgling racer to king of the road.
My first days were pure chaos. I’d burn rubber across the map, popping wheelspins, crashing into cacti, and praying the next spin would drop a hypercar. It didn’t. I learned the hard way that progression in Forza Horizon 5 is a delicate dance between exploration, skill, and a little bit of luck. Today, I’ll share the method that transformed me from a clueless wanderer into a garage-stuffing, level-capped legend.
🗺️ The Art of Unlocking the World
Everything starts with exploration. Playground Games designed Mexico to reward curiosity in the most natural way. Each new road driven, every dusty trail discovered, every landmark stumbled upon—they all shower you with experience points. I spent my first 10 hours simply driving. I remember finding the hidden temple ruins near the jungle; the game popped a notification, handed me XP, and I felt like an archaeologist who also happened to slide a Bugatti through a mud pit.
And then there are the collectibles. Forza Horizon 5 scatters smashable XP boards, fast-travel boards, and the legendary barn finds across its biomes. I made a game of hunting them. Every fast-travel board I smashed made my life easier—turning the map into a teleportation playground. Each XP board gave a satisfying burst of progress. The barn finds, though… those are special. I’d circle a highlighted area, squinting for a dilapidated roof, heart racing when the purple circle finally appeared. Inside, a rusted relic waited to be restored and later, gifted to a random player via the barn-sharing system. It’s a loop that never gets old, and it’s why I’ve returned even in 2026.
🏁 Embrace the Festival, Win the Podium
Events might seem obvious, but in a world this big, it’s easy to forget the structured races. I set a rule early on: whenever I entered a new region, I’d complete at least three events before moving on. This kept my XP flowing steadily. Street races in Guanajuato, cross-country marathons through the jungle, danger signs off volcanic ridges—each victory poured experience into my level and often dropped wheelspins or even entire cars as rewards.
What surprised me most was how different event types fed into different playstyles. I fell in love with drift zones because they directly tied into the combo system, my secret weapon for skyrocketing progression.
🔥 The Combo Multiplier: Drift, Jump, Repeat
If there’s one mechanic that separates casual drivers from leveling machines, it’s the skill combo chain. The core loop is simple: string together drifts, near misses, air time, and destruction while maintaining your multiplier. I’d find a stretch of open highway with traffic, weave through cars, launch off a ramp, and rack up 500,000-point chains that turned into avalanches of skill points.
Skill points are the golden currency. I’d pour them into a car’s mastery tree, unlocking wheelspins, credits, and unique perks. And that’s how I discovered the beautiful synergy of Forza’s progression: drive like a maniac to earn skill points, spend those points to earn wheelspins, then cross your fingers for a garage-worthy machine. I’ve pulled a Koenigsegg Jesko from a standard wheelspin on a Tuesday afternoon—it’s a feeling that never dulls.
🎰 The Wheel of Fortune (and How to Never Lose)
Wheelspins and Super Wheelspins are the heart of the Horizon acquisition game. Every single spin nets you something. Clothes, emotes, credits, or—best of all—a vehicle. The system is ruthlessly generous if you know how to feed it. I always made sure I had a handful of spins saved for a rainy day. Earning them comes from leveling up (both your account and individual cars), completing seasonal playlist challenges, and buying certain perks in car masteries.
I still remember the Super Wheelspin that dropped a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR and a pile of credits in the same swoop. That car later sold at auction for millions, funding my entire collection of vintage Ferraris. Which brings me to the marketplace.
💸 The Economy: Auctions, Autoshow, and a Few Real-World Dollars
The Auction House is where patient wheelers and dealers thrive. Without it, my garage would be half-empty. I’d snipe rare cars at low bids, drive them until they earned a skill-point surplus, then resell them for profit—a perpetual motion machine of virtual currency. Other players post their unwanted rides constantly; if you have the credits, you can own almost anything.
The Autoshow, on the other hand, is your reliable storefront. It always has the same cars in stock at fixed prices. When I needed a specific vehicle for a seasonal championship and the auction house failed me, the Autoshow was my safety net. It’s the difference between gambling and guaranteed satisfaction.
And then there are microtransactions. I won’t pretend they don’t exist. In 2026, the game still offers car packs and add-ons that shortcut the grind. I bought one early on—specifically the Welcome Pack—because it came with cars that helped me blitz through early events. If you’re playing via Xbox Game Pass (which I still do), spending a few extra dollars feels less painful than if you’d paid full price for the disc. It’s not required, but it can smooth the first twenty hours into a silky launchpad.
🧭 The Collector’s Mindset
I saved the most meditative approach for last: collectible hunting. The Mexico map is littered with fast-travel boards and XP boards. My tactic was to wait until I’d driven most roads, then mount a dedicated hunt using the map’s marking system. Every board destroyed made the world shrink. The fast-travel discount eventually hit zero, meaning I could teleport anywhere, anytime, for free. That alone transformed the game into a frictionless sandbox.
Barn finds became my contemplative routine. I’d finish a long play session by circling a suspect area, the radio low, listening for the distant hum of an abandoned engine. When the barn appeared—dusty beams, a tarp-covered silhouette—I felt like I’d uncovered a piece of history. Restoring that car and then setting it free as a gift kept the community alive, a small act of kindness I hope some new player in 2026 will discover.
Today, my garage holds over 700 cars, my account level is past 1000, and I’ve driven every inch of Mexico’s asphalt. But the festival never ends. With Playground Games still supporting the game with seasonal updates—even five years on—I find new reasons to drift, jump, and collect. Whether you’re just downloading it on Game Pass or returning after a long hiatus, these strategies will turn the Horizon Festival into your personal playground. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a barn over by the coast that’s calling my name.