Anyone ever think about the seasons in FH4 and how they mark the passage of time in a way the previous games never did? It was always pretty clearly implied in previous titles that the events all took place during the annual Horizon Festival, but so far we’ve spent nearly six years in England, and before the next title arrives that number will probably be closer to 20-25 or more.
Maybe our drivatars’ kids can take over for us in FH5?
I bet they’ll add aging to the drivatars. You can watch the wrinkles show up on your characters face, the clothing rewards will reflect your changing fashion tastes, and the emojis will move slower.
Wait, maybe we shouldn’t give them any ideas.
Forza Horizon 6: Sims Edition! 
In all seriousness, this isn’t exactly a universe which necessitates rigid continuity, but it’s funny to think about the number of years we’ve all been terrorizing the Scottish and English countrysides.
Coming to FH5 - Multiple surgical enhancements & wrinkle creams coming to wheelspins
One of the marketing lines for FH4 was “live the Horizon life”, so if the game covers a reasonable chunk of the prime driving years then I would say a 20-25 year estimate is appropriate.
FH5 could simply be a different branch of the Horizon festival in a different location that’s occurring in parallel with whatever is going on in Britain.
Now there’s an idea for the future. If each subsequent title cranks up another never-ending festival in a different location, you could eventually have a title where you travel between festival locations. Forza Horizon World!
The prologue is canonically 1 year. Kira says so in the VO. If we assume that every 4 season changes is one year, then there are 13 in-game years for every 1 real life year. Plus the prologue.
Our characters have to be at least old enough to drive in the UK, which is around 16, much like it is in other countries. They also have to be old enough to participate in professional motorsports without the supervision of a trainer. I don’t know exactly what that is, but let’s say it’s at least the age of maturity, so around 18 at the youngest.
Our characters will be around 32 years old by the time the game has been out 1 year. And 45 at the two year mark. And by then, we might just be talking about Horizon 5.
No wonder each Horizon goes out of its way to make it clear that your character is not the same character from the previous game. Your character from the previous game is probably seriously considering retirement.
It’s basically The Good Place but with cars.
I named my drivatar Eleanor.
If time is moving fast in this game, it’s worth noting that the cars are moving relatively very slow.
In the real life travel 100km/h for 168 hours (one week) you’ll travel 16,800 km.
In the game if you travel 16,800km in a season (3 months) you’ve only travelled at a velocity of 8.3km/h.
If you want a realistic passage of time, all the Hondas should have rust on them.
What I want to know is how the crowds at the festival aren’t sick of the same 4 songs being played after 6 years…