Forza Horizon 6 Wants You Lost in Japan And That’s the Point
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Forza Horizon has always been about freedom. But with Forza Horizon 6, Playground Games isn’t just dropping you into another perfect open world, they’re asking you to earn your place in it.
Revealed in depth during today’s Xbox Developer_Direct, Horizon 6 heads to Japan, a setting fans have been begging for since the series began. But instead of handing you the keys to instant superstardom, this time the fantasy starts smaller. You don’t arrive as a racing god, you arrive as a tourist.
Speaking with Xbox Wire's Danielle Partis, Design Director Torben Ellert said “You have this motivation to go to Japan with the Horizon Festival, but you’re only attending as a fan, with a dream to take part in it. "Somehow, it felt right in this game to just put you on the ground – like you just got off the plane, you’ve got a couple of friends that share your dream and know the surroundings.”
Horizon 6 isn’t just trying to impress car nerds. It’s courting anyone who’s ever wanted to disappear to the other side of the world and build something from scratch.
Horizon 6 isn’t a hyper accurate recreation of Japan, and it doesn’t want to be. Playground Games' goal was never realism for realism’s sake.
“It’s easy to think of an authentic space as a recreation of a place, but it’s less about that accuracy, and more about the feel of it,” Ellert told Xbox Wire.
Horizon’s massive new map is separated into solidly distinct districts. The suburbs on the outskirts of Tokyo with groups of modest homes, an industrial docklands district with huge cranes and the downtown area.
Downtown Tokyo is pure sensory overload. Shibuya Crossing, Ginza Avenue, Tokyo Tower are all stitched together with shortcuts and alleyways but designed to support the faster, more arcade style of play we’ve come to expect from the Horizon series.
According to Ellert, “The combination of enormous verticality, glass, neon signs, adverts for all manners of things, with Tokyo we’ve created this ultra-high-density space unlike anything we’ve made before.”
One of the biggest additions to the Horizon franchise is the Collection Journal, inspired by Japan’s long-standing stamp collecting culture. As you explore, landmarks and moments are logged into a digital journal that tracks your personal journey through the country. You can photograph murals, locations, and moments, turning the journal into something uniquely yours.
Then there’s The Estate which is easily one of Horizon 6’s most interesting ideas.
Inspired by Akiya (abandoned rural properties in Japan), The Estate is a large plot of land tied to your companion Mei’s family history. It’s falling apart when you arrive, and it’s up to you to bring it back to life. What you build is up to you: a mountain hideout, a private track, a social space for friends. Everything costs in-game credits you earn by actually engaging with the world. Tear something down? You get your credits back.
There are around 550 cars at launch, including the cover stars: the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser and the 2025 GR GT Prototype. Car culture also gets a social upgrade with Car Meets, inspired by Japan’s legendary Daikoku gatherings. There are three permanent meet locations in the game. One is the Horizon Festival, the other is in the mountains at the Okuibuki parking area and the third is at Daikoku itself. These meets let players show off builds, download liveries, and even buy their own version of a car they like. It’s Horizon acknowledging that enthusiasm for cars doesn’t just happen on tracks, sometimes it also happens in a parking lot.
Ellert sums it up simply: cars are freedom. They’re expression.
“[Cars] are often the most expensive things that many of us will own. They are the most engineered things that many of us will own,” Ellert added to Xbox Wire. “They are brash, they’re loud, they’re beautiful, they appear in fashion and fame, and they’re associated with celebrity, freedom, and the ability to go wherever you want to go.”
Forza Horizon 6 understands that. It’s less about domination and more about belonging. Less about winning and more about finding your place.
Forza Horizon 6 launches May 19 on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Steam, and Game Pass Ultimate. Early Access begins May 15 for Premium Edition players. A PlayStation 5 release is planned for later in 2026.
