Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist Explained: Weekly Reset, Series Rewards & Super7 (2026)
The Festival Playlist is the live-service backbone of Forza Horizon 5 — a rotating list of weekly challenges, Forzathon events, EventLab maps and seasonal car rewards that resets every Thursday and renews completely every four weeks as a new Series. With FH6 launching on 2026-05-19, FH5 is still running the Playlist (Series 59 is live this week, 2026-05-14 to 2026-05-21), and Playground has retroactively made every previous Playlist-exclusive car claimable from the Backstage Shop. This page explains exactly how the system works and what you can earn.
Key Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Weekly reset time (UTC) | 14:30 UTC every Thursday |
| Series length | 4 weeks |
| Seasons per Series | 4 (Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring) |
| Max points per season | 75 |
| Max points per Series | 300 |
| Forzathon Weekly reward | 80 Forza Points + 5 Series points |
| Daily challenges per week | 7 (1 PTS + 10 FP each) |
| Backstage Pass threshold | 40 Festival Playlist points = 1 Backstage Pass |
| Backstage Pass shop cost | 1,000 Forzathon Points (max 1 per week) |
| Super7 long-term reward | Super 7 truck (7 Series of Super7 = 49 cards total) |
| Current Series | Series 59 — European Automotive (Spring, 2026-05-14 to 2026-05-21) |
| Old Playlist-exclusive cars | All now claimable via Backstage Shop |
| Playlist Vote introduced | 2025-01-30 (Series 41) |
What is the Festival Playlist?
The Festival Playlist is a curated weekly list of races, championships, PR Stunts, Forzathon challenges, EventLab maps and online activities that grants points towards seasonal and series-long rewards. It is the primary post-launch progression layer in Forza Horizon 5.
Structurally it nests three timers:
- Series — a one-month theme (e.g. “European Automotive”, “High Performance”). A Series spans four in-game seasons (Summer → Autumn → Winter → Spring), each lasting one real-world week.
- Season — the current weather state of the map for the next seven days. Each season has its own sub-list of challenges that disappear when it rolls over.
- Weekly reset — the moment all season-specific challenges rotate.
Per the official Forza wiki: “A season is active for seven days with each reset at 14:30 (UTC) every Thursday.” Dexerto confirms this in real-time terms as “14:30 GMT / 06:30 PST / 09:30 ET on Thursdays.” Every four weeks the entire Series rolls over and a new one begins with new rewards and a new theme: “Every four weeks (a full seasonal rotation), Playground Games is offering a fresh Festival Playlist with their own rewards.”
You cannot complete a previous season’s challenges once it has ended — “Players can only complete challenges offered during each individual season of a Series whilst it is active.”
Weekly Thursday Reset and Four-Week Series Cycle
The Festival Playlist runs on two coupled clocks:
| Cycle | Length | What rotates | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season (weekly) | 7 days | Season-specific challenges, weather, Forzathon Weekly, Daily Challenges | Spring → Summer at 14:30 UTC Thursday |
| Series (monthly) | 4 weeks | Series theme, headline car rewards, EventLab map pool, Super7 cards | Series 59 → Series 60 |
The official Series 59 forum post is explicit about the timing: “The season starts at 7:30am Pacific on May 14 and ends Thursday, May 21, 2026 2:30 PM” — exactly 14:30 UTC Thursday-to-Thursday.
The four real-world weeks of a Series map to the four in-game seasons in fixed order. Each season uses one of the four Mexico weather states — Summer (Hot Season, dry), Autumn (Wet Season, rain), Winter (Storm Season, tropical storms in the jungle and snow in the mountains), and Spring (Dry Season). Roads, grip and biome accessibility change with each season, which is why the same race can have very different optimal car choices week to week.
Points, Reward Tiers and How to Earn Them
Every Festival Playlist activity awards Playlist Points (PTS). Points accumulate at two levels:
- Season points — reset every Thursday. A full season is worth 75 points, with reward tiers at 20 PTS and 40 PTS (typically a car and a cosmetic, plus the 40-PTS tier grants 1 Backstage Pass).
- Series points — accumulate across all four seasons of the Series. A full Series is worth 300 points, with reward tiers commonly at 80 PTS and 160 PTS for the two headline Series-exclusive cars.
The Series 59 thread illustrates the structure directly: rewards include the 2022 Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro at the 80-point tier and the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 at the 160-point tier, and the Forzathon Weekly entry reads “Forzathon Weekly Challenge (5 pts) — All four challenges must be completed in sequence.”
Typical point values per activity type:
| Activity | Points |
|---|---|
| Seasonal championship / race | 2–3 PTS |
| Seasonal PR Stunt | 1–2 PTS |
| Forzathon Daily Challenge | 1 PTS (+ 10 Forzathon Points) |
| Forzathon Weekly Challenge (4 chapters) | 5 PTS (+ 80 Forzathon Points) |
| EventLab seasonal challenge | 3 PTS (unconfirmed — varies by week) |
| Monthly Rivals | 2 points to each season |
| Photo Challenge | 1 PTS |
The community-referenced “50% / 80%” milestones correspond to the 20/40 and 80/160 thresholds above.
Forzathon Weekly, Daily Challenges and the Forzathon Shop
Forzathon is a sub-layer of the Playlist present in every season, rewarding a second currency — Forza Points (FP) — spendable in the Horizon Forzathon Shop.
Forzathon Weekly Challenge is a four-chapter quest themed around a specific car or car type. You must complete the chapters in order. Per the Forza wiki: “Upon completing the fourth challenge, the player is rewarded with 80 Forza Points and 5 points towards its associated Series.”
Daily Challenges are seven small objectives, one unlocking per day, each available for the rest of the week once unlocked. “The Daily Challenges include seven challenges, of which each challenge becomes available each day at 14:30 (UTC), and each can only be completed within a week upon becoming available. Each daily challenge rewards 1 Playlist Point and 10 Forzathon Points.” Completing all seven nets 7 PTS and 70 FP per week.
The Forzathon Shop rotates weekly and sells cars, clothing, Wheelspins, Super Wheelspins, emotes and Backstage Passes (1,000 FP each, capped at one purchase per week).
Super7, EventLab Challenges and Monthly Rivals
Beyond Forzathon, the Playlist pulls in three community-driven game modes.
Super7 is a stunt mode using community-built Super7 cards. Each season ships a fresh set of cards; clearing the season’s Super7 quota grants Playlist points and seasonal cosmetics. Completing seven full Series of Super7 — 49 cards in total — unlocks the dedicated reward: “completing 7 series challenges (which involves completing 49 Super 7 cards) earns players the Super 7 truck.”
EventLab challenges are curated community-made tracks and game modes featured in the Playlist. EventLab challenges typically award 3 points and can offer seasonal exclusive rewards such as clothing unlocks (unconfirmed — point values vary by week). Since 2023, EventLab features have expanded to include maps set in the Hot Wheels Park and Sierra Nueva (Rally Adventure) biomes.
Monthly Rivals is a single time-attack Rivals event that runs the full four weeks of a Series. The Series 59 thread states it gives “2 points to each season,” so completing it once nets 2 PTS in every weekly season for the remainder of the month.
Photo Challenge and Treasure Hunt are smaller weekly objectives that also count toward Playlist points.
Backstage Pass and Seasonal Car Rewards
The headline reward of the Playlist is its exclusive cars. Each Series has two Series-exclusive cars (at the 80-PTS and 160-PTS Series tiers) plus one or two season-exclusive cars per weekly season.
Backstage Passes are the Playlist’s catch-up currency. “Complete 50% of the events and you’ll earn a single Backstage Pass. 50% of the events equates to roughly 40 points in the Festival Playlist.” Passes are spent in the Horizon Backstage shop, which stocks a rotating selection of formerly exclusive cars. Passes can also be purchased from the Forzathon Shop for 1,000 FP, capped at one per week.
In January 2025 (Series 41) Playground introduced a Playlist Vote: “A new ‘Playlist Vote’ section will replace the ‘Coming Soon’ screen and will let players vote for one of two previously released Festival Playlist options.” Voting runs from the Summer week through Winter, with the winning Playlist replayed during the Spring week of the next Series.
As of Series 58 (2026-03-26) Playground retroactively unlocked every previously time-gated car: every previous Festival Playlist-exclusive car and every car participating in any Backstage Vote is now available to collect from the Backstage Shop. Missing a weekly reward in 2026 is no longer permanent — you can always farm Backstage Passes and claim it later.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time does the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist reset?
Every Thursday at 14:30 UTC (07:30 Pacific / 09:30 Eastern / 15:30 BST). Both the weekly season and, every four weeks, the full Series roll over at that moment.
How long is a Forza Horizon 5 Series?
Four real-world weeks, covering Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring back-to-back. Each Series has its own theme and two headline Series-exclusive cars.
How many points do you need to get all Festival Playlist rewards?
Each weekly season caps at 75 points with rewards at 20 and 40 PTS. The full four-week Series caps at 300 points with Series rewards at 80 and 160 PTS. Hitting the 40-point season tier also grants 1 Backstage Pass.
How do you get Backstage Passes in FH5?
Earn 40 Playlist points in a weekly season (roughly half the available events) for one free pass, or buy one per week from the Forzathon Shop for 1,000 Forza Points.
What is Super7 in Forza Horizon 5?
Super7 is a stunt mini-mode using community-made cards. Each Series features new cards, and completing seven full Series — 49 cards total — earns the exclusive Super 7 truck reward.
Can I still get old Festival Playlist cars I missed?
Yes. Since Series 58 (March 2026), every previously Playlist-exclusive car is permanently available in the Horizon Backstage shop and can be redeemed with Backstage Passes.
What is the Playlist Vote?
Since January 2025, FH5 lets players vote between two previously-run Festival Playlists. The winning Playlist returns during the Spring week of the next Series with updated EventLab content.
Will Forza Horizon 6 have a Festival Playlist?
FH6 launches 2026-05-19 and is expected to use the same live-service Festival Playlist structure as FH5, though exact reset timing and rewards for FH6 are (unconfirmed) until the first Series begins.
Sources
- Forza Wiki (Fandom) — Forza Horizon 5/Festival Playlist
- Dexerto — How to change Forza Horizon 5 seasons: Festival playlist guide
- Forza Wiki (Fandom) — Forza Horizon 5/Festival Playlist - Super7 and weekly structure
- Official Forza Community Forums — Festival Playlist events and rewards May 14-21 (Spring S59)
- Forza Wiki (Fandom) — Forza Horizon 5/Festival Playlist - Forzathon Weekly
- Official Forza Community Forums — Festival Playlist events and rewards May 14-21 (Spring S59) - Forzathon Weekly entry
- Operation Sports — How To Get Backstage Passes in Forza Horizon 5
- Forza.net (official) — Vote for the Festival Playlists You Want to Play on Forza Horizon 5