And yet, yesterday, the game froze on the load screen.

The save file wasn’t the same. Neither was I.

My save file is 48.3 MB.

But when the game started again, and the intro played, and the DJ said “Welcome back to Horizon Mexico,” I felt my tires touch familiar gravel.

Here’s a creative piece based on the concept of a Forza Horizon 5 save file — treating it almost like a digital artifact, a driver’s log, or a found document from within the game’s world. The Last Autosave Type: Short Fiction / In-Game Journal Entry File: FH5_SAVE_0401_DRIVER_ALIAS Location: Player Profile / Horizon Superstar Status: Active — Last Synced: [Unknown] I don’t remember when the music stopped.

I’ve driven every road. I’ve three-starred every danger sign. I’ve tuned cars so precisely that their virtual tires whisper secrets to the tarmac.

I pulled the backup from the cloud — an older version, from before the glitch. I lost my last twenty hours. Lost a perfect lap at the Goliath. Lost a custom livery I spent four nights designing.