Hide & Seek

"Forza Horizon 5 welcomes Hide & Seek, its newest multiplayer experience. In this brand-new game mode, a group of six players will take part in a game of chases taking on one of two roles. Hiders are tasked with remaining hidden from their opponents until the End Zone (the location the Hider needs to reach) is revealed. After the End Zone has been disclosed, the Hider will have to reach it before time runs out and before Seekers build enough points to take the win. On the other hand, Seekers will be tasked with finding and staying close to the Hiders. Doing so will earn them points to complete the Seeker’s Detection Meter. Seekers must complete their bar before time runs out and before the Hider reaches the End Zone to put the win under their belt."

—Official description

Hide & Seek is a five versus one multiplayer game mode in Forza Horizon 5, in which five players have to work as a team to find and seek one hider in one of three areas of the map.

It was introduced to Forza Horizon 5 as part of Series 38 for Forza Horizon 5, released on September 10, 2024, after being announced during "Gamescom 2024" on August 21, 2024, and "Forza Horizon 5: Let's ¡GO! - Hidden Horizons" on September 6, 2024.

Participants are able to join by a random selection of players, and as a six-player convoy. Hide & Seek is made available very early in the game, after players acquire the Casa Bella Player House in Mulegé.

Players can enter a session of Hide & Seek by either driving to its event location north west of the Horizon Festival México Festival Site or through the Online section of the pause menu.

Hide & Seek

Matchmaking

Each session of Hide & Seek includes a total of 6 players, with five players being selected as the Seekers and one as the Hider.

Players can enter a session of Hide & Seek by either driving to its event location or through the pause menu.

Joining a session of Hide & Seek does not require a player to have any specific cars nor be at any level beyond having completed the career prologue, as all players are given the option to choose one of multiple cars available for either team.

As players enter a session, they are told if they are a Seeker or a Hider and what area of the map the session will be taking place at.

Area of Play

The area of play for a session is outlined by a blue border on the map and is visible to all players during a session. The border forms around the main area of one of three locations of the map, and remains in place during a session.

Guanajuato, Mulegé, and Playa Azul have been given designated areas which surround its respective main area on the map. While both Guanajuato and Playa Azul focus only on their respective areas, the area of play for Mulegé includes the Horizon Festival México Festival Site and the Horizon Test Track.

The playable area itself is shown to the player as a large pink dome with white crosses towering high into the sky, and the current edge of the dome is shown as a solid pink circle with hatching along the outside.

Phases

Start Location

Once a session of Hide & Seek has begun, all six players are shown their starting location from a predetermined location. However, only the Hider can see both their and the Seeker's starting location, whereas the Seekers are given three possible locations where the Hider is starting the game from.

Starting locations for both teams are predetermined, with players not allowed to choose where they start.

Phase 1

Phase 1 of the session begins after all six players are in the session with their selected cars.

The Hider is set with the task of remaining undetected by the Seekers by any means necessary, while the Seekers are set with locating and detecting the Hider. Phase 1 lasts for four minutes.

Phase 2

If the Seekers are unable to fully detect the Hider during Phase 1, Phase 2 of the session will begin. An End Zone will spawn in a random location within the area of play, with an additional four minutes added for the Hider to reach the End Zone without being fully detected, and for the Seekers to try and fully detect the Hider.

Power-Ups

Both the Hider and Seekers have one ability, and one power-up which they can use at any given time, each having their own effects on the opposing team, while helping them in their own way.

The Hider has the ability to know where each Seeker is located in the area of play, giving them the opportunity to plan a different route or strategy.

The Seekers are provided with a Radar which provides an approximate location of the Hider. The white area of the Radar points to where the Hider is located and begins to expand when a Seeker is closer, before filling entirely when the Hider is nearby.

Seekers have the ability to Ping the Hider if they are nearby to display their exact location to the rest of their team. Seekers are able to use their Ping at any time and does not affect the rest of the team. If a Ping is used and the Hider is not detected in the area, it will enter a cooldown period before it can be used by the player again. If the Hider is detected in the area when a Ping is used, their exact location will be displayed for the rest of the Seekers for twenty seconds. Multiple Seekers can use their Ping to elongate how long the Hider's location is displayed for the rest of the Seekers.

The Hider is given a Chase Breaker to use. When activated, their car becomes ghosted and will be able to drive through smashable objects on the map. If a Seeker is within a 50 meter radius of the Hider when the Chase Breaker is activated, they will be force-slowed for 20 seconds, while their radar and ability to Ping the Hider will be disabled. If a Seeker that has the location of the Hider pinged is hit by the Chase Breaker, the location will disappear from their minimap until an unaffected Seeker is able to ping the Hider. Once used, the ability will enter a cooldown mode before it can be used by the Hider again.

Victory Conditions

Both the Hider and Seekers have separate victory conditions, with a progression meter displayed at the bottom of the screen through the session. The left-hand side displays the Seeker's Detection on the Hider, while the right-hand side displays Hider Progress in relation to their location and the End Zone.

The detection meter for the Seekers will fill when the Hider has been detected by a Seeker and remains within a 50 meter radius, and will fill up faster if two or more Seekers are following the Hider. Progression can slowly drop if the Hider is able to successfully remain out of sight of the Seekers. Progression will start to rise if Seekers are able to find and follow the Hider, with players notified if they are following the Hider with their progression bar flashing. As the progression bar fills, all players will be notified on-screen when the meter reaches 25%, 50%, and 75%.

The meter for the Hider's progress will only appear after the start of Phase 2 of the session. This fills up depending on how far away the Hider is to the End Zone, and will vary on its progress depending on where the End Zone is spawned and the location of the Hider. An orange dashed line will appear on the minimap for the Hider which points to the location of the End Zone, but will only be visible if the End Zone is not visible within the radius of their minimap. Similar to the Seeker's progression, progression made by the Hider to reaching the End Zone will appear on-screen for all players at 25%, 50%, and 75%.

Once either progress bar reaches 75%, the Announcer will make an announcement for both teams. If the Hider is nearly fully detected, they will be alerted that they have nearly been fully detected, while the Seekers will be notified they are close to detecting the Hider. However, if the Hider is close to the End Zone, they will be notified they have nearly evaded detection, while the Seekers are alerted to finish detecting the Hider before they reach the End Zone.

If the Hider is able to reach the End Zone within the additional four minutes in Phase 2, they will be declared the winner of the session. But if the Seekers can fully detect the Hider within the allotted eight minutes, or the Hider does not reach the End Zone by the end of Phase 2, the Seekers are declared the winners of the session.

Cars

Two different sets of cars are available to choose from in the session. Hiders are given the option of using one of four cars that can be found as a traffic car in Free Roam, while Seekers have a choice of twelve cars to use.

All cars for both teams come upgraded and can only be used with the tune provided and in one of the manufacturer colours given to each car respectively.

During a session, only one traffic car will be in the area and will vary depending on what car the Hider has chosen.

As a Hider, you are forced to have a license plate attached to the car that follows the same pattern traffic cars use, and is randomly generated every session. Cars used by the seekers are also forced to use the default "Horizon" license plate.

Hider Cars
Chevrolet ZR2	Ford Raptor '17	Jeep Wrangler	M-B X-Class

Seeker Cars
Ariel Nomad	Audi RS 6 '15	BMW M4 '16	Chevy Camaro '17
Ford Bronco '21	Gallardo Spyder	M-B SLS AMG	Lancer GSR '08
Nissan GT-R '17	205 Turbo 16	SUBARU WRX '04	Toyota AT37

Rewards

Completing sessions of Hide & Seek will reward players with credits and influence towards their driver level.

Hide & Seek comes with its own progression track, where players can level up from earning XP from completing sessions. Playing the game mode on a frequent basis will result in creating a streak, which will result in earning extra XP at the end of a session.

Players will also be rewarded badges and accolades for completing any challenges pertaining to Hide & Seek, which can be viewed from Online: Hide & Seek list within the player's Accolades section of the pause menu.

Accolades

• Team Player - Reach a Highest Streak of 5 in Hide & Seek
• Dedication to the Cause - Reach a Highest Streak of 20 in Hide & Seek
• Hider & Seeker - Complete a game of Hide & Seek as both the Hider and the Seeker
• Bounty Hunter - Complete 25 games of Hide & Seek as a Seeker
• The Hidden - Complete 5 games of Hide & Seek as a Hider
• Covering Ground - Drive 50 miles (80.5km) in Hide & Seek
• Lay of the Land - Complete a game of Hide & Seek in every area
• Tortoise & Hare - Win a game of Hide & Seek as a Hider without going over 60mph (95km/h)
• As the Crow Flies - Smash 20 Cacti in a game of Hide & Seek
• Skill Issue - Lose a Skill Chain worth over 100,000 in a game of Hide & Seek

Badges

• Just Getting Started - Reach Level 10 in Hide & Seek
• Getting the Hang of It - Reach Level 100 in Hide & Seek
• Hide & Seek Rookie - Reach Level 200 in Hide & Seek
• Hide & Seek Amateur - Reach Level 300 in Hide & Seek
• Hide & Seek Enthusiast - Reach Level 400 in Hide & Seek
• Hide & Seek Expert - Rach Level 500 in Hide & Seek
• Hide & Seek Pro - Rach Level 600 in Hide & Seek
• Hide & Seek Elite - Reach Level 700 in Hide & Seek
• Hide & Seek Specialist - Reach Level 800 in Hide & Seek
• Hide & Seek Master - Reach Level 900 in Hide & Seek
• Hide & Seek Champion - Reach Level 1000 in Hide & Seek
• No Stopping Me - Reach a Highest Streak of 50 in Hide & Seek
• Never Back Down - Reach a Highest Streak of 100 in Hide & Seek
• Undetected - Win a game of Hide & Seek with 0% detection as a Hider
• Sting In the Tail - Hit a total of 100 car with Chase Breaker as a Seeker in Hide & Seek
• World Traveller - Drive 1000 miles (1610km) in Hide & Seek
• Ding Ding Ding - Make 100 successful Pings in Hide & Seek

Achievements

Ten achievements were added for Hide & Seek as part of the Series 39 update on October 7, 2024.

Name	Description	Gamerscore
Hider and Seeker	Complete a match of Hide and Seek as both the Hider and the Seeker	10
Lay of The Land	Complete a match in every arena in Hide and Seek	10
Blending In	Win as a Hider in Hide and Seek	15
The Big Reveal	Win as a Seeker in Hide and Seek	15
Bounty Hunter	Complete 25 matches of Hide and Seek as a Seeker	20
The Hidden	Complete 5 matches of Hide and Seek as a Hider	20
Covering Ground	Drive 50 miles in Hide and Seek	30
Dedicated to the Cause	Reach a Streak of 20 in Hide and Seek	30
Catching a Break	Successfully hit a total of 20 Seekers with Chase Breaker in a game of Hide and Seek	50
Never Back Down	Reach a Streak of 50 in Hide and Seek	50