Forza Horizon 6 set in Japan, coming to PC and Xbox first in 2026

[midian182]

Highly anticipated: The next installment in one of the most popular racing franchises of all time, Forza Horizon, has been announced. Forza Horizon 6 will be set in Japan and is arriving on PC and Xbox first in 2026. A PlayStation 5 version will be released sometime "post-launch."

There has been a slew of rumors claiming that the next Forza Horizon game would be set in Japan. Aptly, it was at the Xbox showcase at the Tokyo Game Show where Microsoft confirmed Forza Horizon 6 would indeed be set in the land of the rising sun.

Xbox exec Matt Booty said that developers Playground Games and Turn 10 have "poured their hearts into Forza Horizon 6, bringing Japan to life like never before." He added that Japan has been the most-requested location since the very first game.

Mount Fuji is expected to feature heavily

The previous Horizon titles have been set – in order – in Colorado, Southern Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Mexico.

Forza Horizon 6 will be released in 2026. Booty promised that Microsoft will be sharing more details next year ahead of its launch.

Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief, spoke to Playground Games about the upcoming game and the Japanese setting.

"For a long time, Japan has been top of Horizon fans' wish lists, so we're excited to finally be bringing this much-requested location to players in Forza Horizon 6," said art director Don Arceta. "Japan has such a unique culture – from cars, to music, to fashion – that make it perfect for the next Horizon setting. As with any Horizon title, we want to make sure we do the country justice in terms of authentic representation and Horizon open world playability – and now is the right time to realize that fully for players."

It's also noted that part of the reason why Japan was chosen is because of technological advancements. Gaming hardware and software is now powerful enough to represent the complexity of Japan's futuristic cities and beautiful landscapes accurately.

Arceta adds that after so many previous Forza games, the developers now have plenty of experience in creating unusual designs. He cites the Forza Horizon 5 Hot Wheels DLC as helping the team develop the elevated roads of Tokyo City in Forza Horizon 6.

It was also confirmed that Japan's enormous car culture will be represented in the game – alongside the usual massive selection of vehicles. Seasonal changes will return, too, altering not only the look of the game but how the world feels, apparently.

It seems that we won't be seeing any actual gameplay of Forza Horizon 6 until next year, but there's already a lot of excitement surrounding this next entry.

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Forza Horizon 6 set in Japan, coming to PC and Xbox first in 2026

 

[bviktor]

FYI FH5 is on 50% sale, both for the PS5 and Steam. Just bought it myself.

 

[toooooot]

I am curious for fh6, particularly because I am a fan of evolution in graphics in AAA games. I am not buying it though, not at full or 50% off price.
I am still disappointed with the studio after fh4 which I purchased as the most expensive version.
The last DLC, the extra cost was for DLCs, was literally a lego game. You telling me, people who buy one of the most realistic and advanced racing game dream about it being converted to lego racing game?
It was a worthless DLC. And it was disrespectful to a customer. No more, Playground, no more.

 

[GoldenGoat]

I bought the ultimate edition of forza horizons when it came out. I think the game has a lot of great qualities, but players treat it like it’s bumper cars and knock each other off the road with no penalty. They even knock their teammates off the track in team events. You can also get ahead by running head on into a wall at over 200 mph instead of breaking and making a clean turn. I like the idea of an arcade racer that has real cars, but encouraging people to crash into stuff and other people to get ahead really ruins it for me.