Forza Horizon 3
Forza Horizon 3 drops you into a sun-soaked slice of Australia and lets you tackle it like a rolling car festival, rather than a strict track racer. With a garage that clears 350 vehicles and an open map built for roaming, it is as much about sightseeing and stunts as it is about clean lap times.
 | Publisher: Microsoft Studios Playerbase: High Type: Racing Release Date: September 27, 2016 Pros: +Huge car roster (350+). +Expansive open-world Australia. +Co-op campaign for up to four. +Cross-platform support. Cons: -Lengthy loading. -Menus can feel unintuitive. |
Forza Horizon 3 Overview
Forza Horizon 3 is built around the fantasy of being the headliner of a massive driving event, free to point your car toward the horizon and make your own route. Australia is the star of the show here, with long coastal roads, dusty outback stretches, dense greenery, and urban areas that keep the pace changing. The presentation does a lot of heavy lifting, with sharp car models, strong lighting, and an attention to atmosphere that sells the sensation of speed. Playground Games even used thousands of HDR images to help recreate the look of Australian skies, which gives the world a distinctive tone at different times of day.
The game’s big hook is choice. You can jump between a huge variety of cars (including headline exotics like the Lamborghini Centenario) and approach events in multiple ways, whether you prefer road racing, dirt runs, cross-country chaos, or simply exploring for billboards and XP boards. It also supports cooperative play for up to four players in a shared campaign, so progression and roaming can be a group activity rather than a solo checklist.
A standout feature is the event creation toolset. You can build races and challenges and tweak the rules, such as what cars are eligible and what the weather looks like, then share those events to see who can set the best times. On the personal side, there is plenty of room to tune and customize vehicles, from cosmetic touches like wheels to parts that shift a car toward rally-ready handling. If you like driving with your own soundtrack, the game also allows you to stream your music through Groove Music while you cruise.
Forza Horizon 3 Key Features:
- Over 350 Cars – pick from a massive lineup of vehicles (350+), ranging from off-road beasts like the Ford Raptor to supercars such as the Lamborghini Centenario.
- Large Open World – the Horizon formula thrives on free-roam racing, and this entry delivers the biggest map the series had seen at the time.
- Four-People Co-Op – team up with as many as three friends to progress through the campaign together, exploring and completing events as a group.
- Amazing Skies – the game’s sky and lighting are a major part of the mood, supported by thousands of HDR photos used to capture Australia’s look.
- Customize Events and Courses – make your own events by adjusting parameters like weather and car restrictions, then challenge other drivers to beat your setups.
Forza Horizon 3 Screenshots
Forza Horizon 3 Featured Video
Forza Horizon 3 Review
Forza Horizon 3 sits in a sweet spot between sim-leaning car handling and arcade readability. Cars feel weighty enough that braking points and traction matter, but the game rarely punishes experimentation, especially when you are simply roaming the map and chasing side objectives. That balance makes it welcoming for players who want spectacle and variety, while still offering enough depth in tuning and driving technique to keep enthusiasts engaged.
The best moments come from how naturally the world supports different play styles. You can stick to structured races and championships, or you can treat the map like a playground and look for jumps, off-road shortcuts, and scenic routes. The biomes are varied enough that it rarely feels like you are repeating the same stretch of road, and the game does a good job nudging you toward new areas through events and collectibles without forcing a single path.
Car variety is another major strength. With more than 350 options, the game supports plenty of niches, modern supercars, classic icons, rally-friendly builds, and trucks that thrive off the beaten path. The tuning and upgrade systems encourage you to keep favorites relevant, rather than constantly abandoning cars as you progress. Cosmetic customization is also meaningful for players who like personal expression, even if it is not the deepest livery editor on the market.
Co-op is an important part of the package. The four-player campaign structure makes the game feel like a road trip, where friends can split up to tackle objectives or roll together and turn routine races into friendly rivalries. Cross-platform play helps the community stay active across PC and Xbox One, which is especially valuable for a title built around shared events and casual online encounters.
The main drawbacks are largely quality-of-life issues. Load times can interrupt the otherwise smooth pacing, particularly if you are jumping between activities frequently. The interface also has a learning curve, with menus that can feel busy when you are trying to quickly compare events, cars, and upgrades. Neither issue ruins the experience, but both are noticeable in a game that otherwise aims for effortless flow.
Overall, Forza Horizon 3 is at its best when you treat it like a celebration of driving rather than a strict racing ladder. If you enjoy open-world exploration, a huge selection of cars, and the option to bring friends along for the ride, it remains one of the strongest entries in the festival-style racing subgenre.
Forza Horizon 3 Links
Forza Horizon 3 Xbox Site
Forza Horizon 3 Forza Motorsport Site
Forza Horizon 3 Reddit
Forza Horizon 3 Forums [Official]
Forza Horizon 3 System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Win 10 64-bit
CPU: Core i5-4460 3.2GHz
Video Card: GeForce GTX 760 or Radeon R7 260X v3
RAM: 8 GB
Hard Disk Space: 55 GB
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
CPU: Core i7-4790 4-Core 3.6GHz
Video Card: GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB or Radeon R9 FURY X 4GB
RAM: 16 GB
Hard Disk Space: 55 GB
Forza Horizon 3 Music & Soundtrack
A big part of Horizon’s appeal is the way music and driving blend into a road-trip rhythm, but Forza Horizon 3 also gives you flexibility in how you listen. If you prefer your own playlists while exploring Australia, the game supports streaming your personal music through Groove Music, letting you swap out the default vibe for something that matches your mood, whether that is laid-back cruising or full-throttle sprinting between events.
Forza Horizon 3 Additional Information
Developer(s): Playground Games
Publisher(s): Microsoft Studios
Platform(s): PC, Xbox One
Release Date: September 27, 2016
Development History / Background:
Forza Horizon 3 is a racing game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios. As the third entry in the open-world Forza Horizon branch of the broader Forza franchise, it continues the series’ focus on festival-style driving across a large map. The game was shown publicly at E3 2016 and launched in September 2016 for Xbox One and PC.