While previous Horizon games have depicted the player as one of the racers of the Horizon Festival, the player is now the director of the Festival, and their role is to make it the biggest festival in the world. A total of 350 cars are available to players at launch. Here the player can also choose to expand a site with additional events as they progress. Upgrades and vehicles can be purchased through any of the game's festival sites. Players can also find billboards throughout the gameplay world, which, when driven over, award the player with experience points or discount on fast travelling. For example, the player may need to reach a certain top speed in the Ford GT before time runs out. During Bucket List Challenges, the player is given a specific car and task. Players compete in various events around the game's world, including various forms of races, time trials, drifting, and Bucket List Challenges. The gameplay world is expansive, twice the size of its predecessor in the series Forza Horizon 2, and includes locales such as Surfers Paradise, Byron Bay, Yarra Valley, Woods Point, Coober Pedy and the Outback.
Forza Horizon 3 is a racing video game set in an open world environment based in a fictional representation of Australia.
