The British-made arcade racing series is heading to Japan for its next installment but it won’t just be Xbox gamers enjoying this year’s offering as Playstation also gets a version
Car fans will get to enjoy the ultimate race thrill in a brand new Forza Horizon game on both Xbox and PS5.
The previously Xbox-exclusive series is coming to its rival console later this year as Microsoft continues to bash down the old ‘console war’ barriers to deliver its top titles on all major gaming machines.
Forza Horizon 6, from British-based Playground Games, will take us to Japan for the first time in the franchise in a photo-realistic arcade driving simulator with fast and furious motor racing.
You’ll start the game as a tourist, rather than a pro racer, and will set out to build up a mighty fleet of cars and a reputation to boot as you battle it out in all kinds of wild race events to be crowned king of the road.
The game’s sprawling, impressive map is separated into distinct districts, from beautiful mountains to the urban spaces of Japan.
The suburbs are dotted on the outskirts of Tokyo; narrow, undulating streets with telephone wires sweeping overhead, connecting clusters of modest homes.
Tokyo also has a docklands district, an industrial space piled high with huge cranes and colossal freighters and there’s also the iconic downtown area, where you’ll see Shibuya Crossing, Ginko Avenue and Tokyo Tower – landmarks bound together by dense urban streets, clever shortcuts and hidden paths, but all designed to support Horizon’s typically fast gameplay.
Design Director Torben Ellert said: “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.
“It’s the most visually, radically different space we’ve ever built for a Horizon game.”
He added of the story idea: “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. That felt like a great way to frame up that big open-door experience and explore the question of ‘what would it take for you to drop everything to fly to the other side of the world to pursue your dream?’”
You won’t end up in Japan alone – two of your close friends are coming to experience this adventure with you.
Jordy is a passionate motorsports enthusiast, while Mei is an experienced Japanese car builder, and it’s her character that adds an insider’s perspective to your journey through Japan.
The team continues the established wristband progression system from previous Horizon games – where players rise through the ranks of the Horizon Festival to unlock better cars and higher caliber races.
Similar to previous titles, there are eight player houses that you can unlock throughout Japan, which serve as fast travel points, a customisation space, and all come with garages where you’ll be able to fully decorate the space and display several vehicles per home.
With the aim of authentically creating a racing experience that reflects informal gatherings as well as professionally organized events, Forza Horizon 6 introduces Car Meets, a feature grounded in Japanese car culture.
These meets are inspired by the Daikoku car meet – a world-renowned, mostly spontaneous meeting place and sacred ground for car enthusiasts.
There are no official events, no entry requirement, and it’s always open.
There are three locations in-game where permanent Car Meets take place.
There are around 550 different cars to collect in Forza Horizon 6, including game cover cars, the 2025 GR GT Prototype and the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser.
“The 2025 GR GT Prototype is really special to us because it’s our hero cover car, but it’s also a car that you drive as part of what we call the Initial Experience,” Ellert said.
“It’s the first 10 minutes of the game where you get to drive the car, almost as a prelude.
“You get to do some off-roading in The Alps, race the Shinkansen (bullet train), and get a taste of what’s to come.
“Then, we take that all away and say, ‘well that’s about the festival, and you’re not in the festival’, this brief experience with the 2025 GR GT Prototype is aspirational, almost like a dream, and it gives you that aspiration to go out and earn that car yourself because it really is an amazing thing.”
The game launches on May 19 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Steam, and with Game Pass Ultimate.
It will come to PlayStation 5 later in 2026.
