How big is the map in Forza Horizon 4?

As a passionate Horizon fan ever since the series‘ debut back in 2012, I‘ve loved exploring every new map Playground Games has crafted. When Forza Horizon 4 was announced as being set in Britain, I‘ll admit I wondered if the country would be able to match the epic scale of Australia or Colorado.

So how big is Horizon 4‘s slice of Britain? Let‘s break it down:

52 Square Miles of Jam-Packed Open World

The core open world map in Forza Horizon 4 measures 52 square miles (71 km2) according to Playground Games. That makes it almost identical in size to Horizon 3‘s Australia, while still dwarfing early entries like Horizon 1‘s Colorado at just 39 square miles.

To put 52 miles into perspective from a racing game fan‘s point of view:

• It would take around 70 minutes to drive across the entire map non-stop at top speed. So while not the absolute biggest in the genre, it‘s far from a tiny experience where you‘ll be burning laps of the same circuit over and over.
• There are more than 1,000 curving, hilly British country roads packed within the space. Plus trails, beaches, farmland and tracks galore. Horizon 4 puts its acreage to good use.

Based on my hundred of hours tearing through bridges, tunnels, villages and sweeping countryside vistas – Playground Games has achieved something special in Horizon 4. There are seemingly endless permutations of routes to map out, making no two races ever feel the same.

How Other Racing Games Compare for Open World Scale

To fully appreciate Horizon 4‘s map size, let‘s see how it stacks up against other big names in the racing genre when it comes to Exploration Mode spaces:

Obviously entries like The Crew blow Horizon 4‘s scale out of the water in terms of raw map acreage. However – as a gamer who has racked up days of playtime across multiple racing franchises – Horizon does the most with the space it has.

The team at Playground Games handcrafts every kilometer to reward off-road exploring over empty cookie cutter forests. There‘s meaningful races and stunning vistas hidden around every bend. It never feels repetitive or lacking in density.

Real-World British Places Immortalized In-Game

While Forza Horizon 4 takes creative license in building its take on Britain, the artists managed to distill the feeling of iconic destinations into the map. As a UK native myself, I was stunned by moments of deja vu tearing through the open world…

Specific landmarks and regions that long-time visitors or residents will instantly recognize include:

• Central Edinburgh: Complete with Arthur‘s Seat, Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile cobblestone streets and more straight from the Scottish capital.
• Derwentwater: The Lake District‘s jaw dropping Derwentwater lake is recreated in vivid detail – mountains, islands, woodlands and all.
• Ambleside: The quaint homes and tree-lined roads of Ambleside village are present alongside the matching lakeside views.
• Cotswolds: Charming rural towns like Broadway with honey-colored stone architecture dot Horizon 4‘s slice of the Cotswolds region.
• Northumberland Coast: Rugged cliffs, choppy seas and even a miniature Holy Island/Lindisfarne are packed into this northern coastal stretch.

Those are just a handful of examples. Nearly every corner of the map pays homage to postcard-worthy snippets of Britain. Playground Games could likely give a full Ted talk on their research expeditions!

For gamers unfamiliar with the UK, hopefully the above list gives you a taste of how much history and landscape variety is squeezed into this virtual Britain. Snow dusted highlands straight from Braveheart, quaint villages ripped from Shakespeare plays and moody lochs that look torn from original Wicker Man film stills.

The Longest Races – Conquering the Goliath and More

No exploration of Forza Horizon 4‘s map would be complete without touching on its most epic events – races that truly test a driver‘s endurance and consistency:

• Goliath: The aptly named mega circuit wraps around Horizon 4‘s entire map. Completing its multi-lap challenge can easily take over an hour of intense driving. Records show players running Goliath for 12+ hours straight chasing scoring leaderboards!
• Seasonal Showcase Remixes: Special weekly events that tackle hazards like debris flows through Aberfoyle or the gloomy moors of Bamburgh. These hour long remixes force you to master specific zones.
• Custom Routes: The thriving Horizon 4 creative community has crafted races spanning the entire map. These player-made endurance challenges let you experience the roads in fresh configurations.

Having beaten my fair share of events across the entire Forza Horizon series – the diversity keeps you engaged far better than past entries. Lakeside sprints in the summer shift to white-knuckle blizzards raging across the highways when the seasons change. Every week refresh unveils new terrain.

The huge playspace also means dedicated zones carved out for street racing, off-road, drift trials and more. So you‘re never just doing lap after lap of the same circuit ad nauseum.

In Conclusion…

While far from the outright largest open world in racing games, Forza Horizon 4‘s 52 square mile map stands as my personal favorite of the franchise. I could rave for hours more on awesome areas like the iconic Broadway or the danger and beauty of those coastal cliffs!

So if you ever feel like you‘ve mastered every hidden shortcut or challenging zone – just wait for the seasons to shift. You‘ll quickly realize there‘s endless adventures still waiting around the next bend.

Now if you‘ll excuse me, I see storm clouds gathering over Derwentwater. Time to take my favorite S1 class ride out for a spin!