[2] The player participates in the Horizon Festival, a fictional racing competition set within Southern France and Northern Italy.

[3] The game has approximately three times more drivable area than that of its predecessor Forza Horizon, with events set in Provence, Liguria and Côte d'Azur (Nice) along with scaled down towns of Sisteron and Saint-Martin-du-Var.

Players can explore the expansive map, taking part in races and special events in order to advance through the game.

Events can take place at day or night, and a dynamic weather system was added for the first time in a Forza-series game.

[4] Among new features in the game are "Bucket Lists", three groups of timed challenges for the player to complete, similar to the 1000 Club in Forza Horizon.

[5][6] According to creative director Ralph Fulton, "one of the big technical challenges that we had to face was making sure that we could stream in a world that is next-gen beautiful, but fast enough to keep up with the fastest car.

The list includes the 2014 Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 and Veneno, the McLaren P1, the LaFerrari, the Agera, and the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

[5] Creative director Ralph Fulton cited Europe's "fantastic driving roads, amazing environmental diversity, and just stunning vistas that you really want to explore" as some of the major points in selecting it for Horizon 2.

They recorded environmental sounds like raindrops hitting the car, skidding on wet and dry surfaces, and debris kick-up.

[13] On 23 June 2023, it was announced by Turn 10 Studios that they would be shutting down the online servers for Forza Horizon and all versions of Forza Horizon 2 (including the Fast & Furious standalone expansion) on 22 August 2023, thereby removing access to game features including leaderboards, matchmaking, and access to user-generated content, with support for offline play still being available past that date.

[15] Storm Island adds, along with the new setting and associated tracks, five new event types, an expansion of the game engine's weather system, five new vehicles and an additional barn-find car.

Actor Chris "Ludacris" Bridges who played Tej in the Fast & Furious series was also featured in the game with his voiceover.

[26] Jonathan Leack of CraveOnline called the game "racing paradise" and "a highly enjoyable destination for anyone willing to buckle up behind a wheel".

Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Forza Horizon 2 for "Racing Game of the Year".