Forza Horizon 6 is a great time in an extremely detailed replica of Japan, but a single ‘drivatar’ is causing mayhem across the racing game, with the community now organising to end their reign of terror and learn more about their origins.
Last week, players quickly noticed a recurring foe who was performing a little too well and even managed to surprise with unpredictable moves. In the Forza Horizon games, AI bots based on your friends and other community members populate offline and co-op races; ‘drivatars’ is how the games refer to them. This time around, the ‘drivatar’ known as bowieknife99 has become a boogeyman of sorts.
Unless we’re being misled, bowieknife99 is based on a real player too, which has prompted investigations into who this person is, but their Xbox profile is set to private. As it stands, the individual behind the myth remains a mystery. Meanwhile, the bot is exhibiting unexpected behaviour, ramming into players and even driving off the road to hit their targets. It must be noted ‘drivatars’ are typically logical in their decision-making and stick to the courses even if they’re hard to beat at times.
“Thought I had this drag race in the bag, JUST FOR THE CAMERA TO TURN AROUND AND SHOW ME LOSING TO A TRICYCLE,” a player lamented as they shared a clip of the one and only bowieknife99 zooming into the horizon with a tiny, ridiculous ride putting all the beefier cars to shame.
Of course, some players are trying to take matters into their own hands, specifically targeting the ‘drivatar’ where possible, but results are mixed so far. As the legend grows, we demand justice. In my own experience, bowieknife99 hasn’t been especially weird, but they’re a rival to beat in almost every offline or co-op race for sure. I’m personally praying developer Playground Games never fixes whatever is wrong with that bot. After all, it’s nice to have a common enemy.
