Forza Horizon 4 lets you farm XP without playing the game

You can gain influence for doing just about anything in Forza Horizon 4 - changing your mind and pulling a sudden e-brake turn will usually net you a few points. But it turns out the easiest way to gain influence is by leaving a browser tab open. To explain why, we have to explain something extremely annoying about Forza. It wants you to stream the game, but only on Mixer, Microsoft’s Seattle-based alternative to Twitch. While I was researching this post, in fact, I found out that if your streaming software (OBS, in my case) isn’t set to stream through Mixer, having it open will cause Forza Horizon 4 to shut itself down as soon as it detects it. Now, that said, if you do decide to stream the game through Mixer, you wind up with some benefits - Mixer streaming nets you increased influence points, the game’s version of experience. Gaining influence means gaining levels, and gaining levels will net you specific emotes (for if you need to see the Hotline Bling performed by an idiot in Santa-themed booty shorts at Edinburgh Castle, for instance) or wheel spins, which are a much bigger deal. Wheel spins can grant you “rare” Santa-themed booty shorts (yes, I’m still salty about those), but also massive credit payouts and in many cases, rare cars.