Playground Games has unveiled an extensive new look at Forza Horizon 6, confirming that the latest entry in the open world racing series will take players to Japan when it launches on May 19. The game is coming to Xbox Series X and S, PC, Xbox Cloud, Steam, and day one with Game Pass Ultimate, with a PlayStation 5 release planned for later in 2026. It will also support Xbox Play Anywhere at launch.
The deep dive, presented during Xbox Developer Direct, focused on how the team approached recreating Japan, the cultural influences shaping the experience, and several new systems designed to expand player freedom. Design Director Torben Ellert explained that Forza Horizon 6 represents a fresh starting point for the series, both in tone and structure, aimed at appealing to a broader audience beyond traditional racing fans.
Unlike previous Horizon games, players begin their journey not as an established racing star, but as a visitor arriving in Japan with the ambition of one day taking part in the Horizon Festival. The opening places players on the ground as a newcomer, surrounded by friends who share the same dream, reinforcing the feeling of discovery that underpins the entire experience. According to Ellert, this framing was chosen to capture the excitement of traveling to an unfamiliar place and pursuing a personal goal from scratch.
Japan itself has been designed to capture the essence of the country rather than replicate it exactly. The map blends sweeping mountain roads, dense urban environments, industrial docklands, and suburban neighborhoods into a condensed open world built for high-speed driving and exploration. Tokyo plays a central role, featuring recognizable landmarks such as Shibuya Crossing, Ginza Avenue, and Tokyo Tower, all connected by tightly packed streets, shortcuts, and vertical routes that support Horizon’s fast-paced gameplay.
Outside the city, players will find quieter residential districts with narrow roads and overhead power lines, large industrial areas filled with cranes and cargo ships, and expansive mountain regions that emphasize elevation and long-distance views. Playground Games described this as the most visually diverse and vertically complex map the series has ever produced, balancing authenticity with the series’ trademark freedom and spectacle.
Cultural authenticity was a key focus throughout development. The player is accompanied by two close friends, including Mei, an experienced Japanese car builder who provides local insight into the country and its car culture. This perspective was reinforced behind the scenes through collaboration with cultural consultant Kyoko Yamashita, ensuring that details both large and small reflected a deeper understanding of Japan beyond surface-level references.
Progression has also been expanded with the introduction of the Collection Journal, a new system inspired by Japan’s stamp-collecting tradition. While the familiar Horizon Festival wristband progression returns, the Journal gives exploration a tangible purpose. Discovering landmarks, points of interest, and unique locations adds entries to the Journal, contributing to overall progression while serving as a visual record of the player’s journey. Players can also personalize it by saving photos of murals, scenery, and notable sights encountered across the map.
Housing returns once again, with eight player homes scattered throughout Japan that act as fast travel points and customizable garages. New to Forza Horizon 6 is The Estate, a large, customizable plot of land inspired by the Japanese concept of Akiya, abandoned rural properties that are often left unused. The Estate allows players to build structures, tracks, or social spaces using in-game credits earned through activities such as racing, exploration, and delivery jobs, with full freedom to modify or remove constructions without penalty.
Social features have been further expanded through the introduction of Car Meets, inspired by real-world Japanese car gatherings such as Daikoku. These locations act as always-open social hubs where players can meet others online, inspect vehicles, download liveries, and even purchase copies of cars they encounter. Three permanent Car Meet locations are available, including one at the Horizon Festival itself, one in the mountains, and one based on Daikoku, reinforcing the sense of community at the heart of the game.
At launch, Forza Horizon 6 will feature approximately 550 cars. Playground Games also revealed the cover vehicles, the 2025 GR GT Prototype and the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser. Both cars feature prominently in the game’s opening moments, with the GR GT Prototype starring in an early aspirational sequence designed to give players a taste of what awaits later in their journey. The key art revealed alongside the cars draws heavily from traditional Japanese Sumi-E ink painting, blending modern and traditional influences to reflect the country’s contrasts.
Ellert emphasized that while supercars and prototypes remain a major draw, the Horizon series continues to focus on what cars represent more broadly. Vehicles are portrayed as symbols of freedom, expression, and connection, rather than just performance statistics. That philosophy underpins Forza Horizon 6, which aims to give players the freedom to explore a richly detailed world, engage with car culture in multiple ways, and share those experiences with friends.
Forza Horizon 6 launches on May 19, with Early Access for Premium Edition owners beginning on May 15. Pre-orders are available now across all supported platforms.
