Playground Games’ upcoming open-world racing game Forza Horizon 6 now has a firm release date. Officially revealed at the 2026 Developer Direct showcase (it was leaked beforehand), the developer shared some new gameplay footage as well as explained some of the changes coming to the latest entry.
The first thing racing game enthusiasts will be glad to know is that Forza Horizon 6 will return to the usual progression system of rising through the ranks to be a Horizon Superstar, rather than being a Superstar from the get go as seen in Forza Horizon 5. The player character is a tourist in Japan and is looking to work their way to access and participate in the Horizon Festival, earning wristbands (as seen in Forza Horizon and Forza Horizon 2) as they go.
The interview piece on Xbox Wire does however confirm that there will be an Initial Drive sequence, where you get a sampler of what to expect when you do join the Horizon Festival, featuring the cover car, Toyota’s new sports car: the GR GT.
Japan, the setting of Forza Horizon 6 and the biggest map in the series yet, will feature not just the rural countrysides, but also within Tokyo itself. The showcase revealed that the C1 Loop (the famous ring-road that has featured in other car media and games) and the Daikoku parking lot are featured in Forza Horizon 6 as well as an extensive urban area that includes docksides. But also expect the expected mountain switchbacks and double-spiral loops as well.
Car Meets are a proper feature where one can join and interact, rather than just a place where you are expected to park and see other cars and players. You can check out other players’ cars, download their custom liveries and even purchase a copy of that same car right from the Car Meet.
Forza Horizon 6 will feature over 550 cars at launch. Forza Horizon 5 by comparison launched with around 400 cars (491 by our count, but for some reason there are variances in reported numbers), though it currently the game officially has 902 cars through post-launch additions via DLCs and expansions.
Thankfully, the regular Forza aero kits have been refreshed so they don’t look the same like previous games do, while some cars will be getting new body kits for customisation. You can now also put stickers on car windows, as the livery editor will now extend the editable areas to windows.
Forza Horizon 6 have also balanced the performance of the cars, and will now include the R tier as the highest rating class, presumably above S2.
Forza Horizon 6 don’t just let you buy a house like previous games, there’s one you can customise to make it your own. The Estate can be customised by adding props and objects, in a similar way how one create custom maps using the Eventlabs tool. Speaking of, players can now cooperatively use the Eventlabs level editor, working simultaneously in building custom maps and experiences.
The changing seasons, confirmed to return when the game was announced, can be seen in the variety of in-engine footage shown here, from autumnal forests to streets littered in cherry blossom petals that blows away when you’re driving through.
Forza Horizon 6 will launch first on Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) on May 19, but it’s also coming to PS5 later this year.