Forza Horizon 6 first gameplay details revealed and release date confirmed
Playground Games shared the first look at the series’ Japan entry in a gameplay deep dive
The first look at Forza Horizon 6 gameplay was revealed during today’s Xbox Developer Direct.
The broadcast showed a deep dive into the sixth Forza Horizon title, which will take the series to Japan for the first time.
It also confirmed the previously leaked release date of May 19, with a Premium Edition offering early access starting on May 15.
Rather than previous games, which start with the player taking part in the Horizon Festival, this time Forza Horizon 6 will start players off as a tourist in Japan, and they have to qualify for the Horizon Festival
Once qualified, players have to complete Showcases and a new Horizon Rush obstacle course event, to earn more wristbands and work their way up the Festival’s ranks. If they earn the gold wristband, they will unlock access to Legend Island, where they can access exclusive challenges and races.
The game will feature more than 550 cars at launch, with more to follow as DLC. In a new feature designed to let players earn some of these vehicles quicker, aftermarket cars can be found parked on driveways around the environment, where players can find and buy some rare vehicles.
New Touge race types will be added to the game – these Japanese races see players racing along narrow, winding mountain courses.
The game’s Tokyo region will be five times larger than anything Playground Games has created before, with distinct districts.
As in other Forza Horizon games, there will be eight players house which can be bought, serving as Fast Travel points and garages. However, this time players will also have access to the Estate, a much larger piece of land set around an abandoned piece of property in rural Japan, which can be fully customised.
“In practice, The Estate is a flat area of land where you can build anything you want – a mountain hideaway, a personalized track for friends – the only real constraint is that the items will cost in-game currency,” Xbox‘s description says.
“When you build something, you pay a few credits to put it down – credits you earn in other activities across the game world – and you get the credits back if you delete something.”
A new Car Meets feature lets players visit one of three locations – the Horizon Festival, The Alps at the Okuibuki parking area, or Daikoku where real-life car meets take place – and show off their own customised cars. Players can download other players’ custom paint jobs and buy their own version of cars they like.
When it first announced Forza Horizon 6 last year, Microsoft stated that the game “will launch first on Xbox consoles and PC in 2026,” and that “Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios are also working together to bring Forza Horizon 6 to PlayStation 5 post-launch”.
This was confirmed again during today’s presentation, where it was said the PS5 version will be coming “later in 2026”.
