Playing Forza Horizon 6 with ray tracing won't require high-end GPUs

[Daniel Sims]

In a nutshell: Microsoft and Playground Games have published the full PC system requirements and technical features for Forza Horizon 6, which launches on May 19. The game will support a broad range of configurations, including handheld PCs, and several new features to make tweaking graphics settings easier.

Unlike prior entries in the popular arcade racing series, Forza Horizon 6 will enable players to change graphics settings without restarting the game. Furthermore, live previews will show players the effects of visual tweaks in real-time, and monitoring tools will track video and system memory usage. A benchmark is also included.

The game will support modest GPUs such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, and Intel Arc A380 at 1080p and 60fps, as well as the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Xbox Ally. Meanwhile, an RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6700 XT, or Arc A580 can handle the game in native 1440p without ray tracing.

Forza Horizon 6's maximum graphics preset in native 4K without RT requires at least an RTX 4070 Ti or RX 7900 XT and 24GB of system RAM. A 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT paired with 32GB of system memory can achieve 60fps in upscaled 4K with ray-traced reflections and global illumination active during races and in photo mode. The game also supports DLSS 4, FSR 4, and XeSS 2.1. Although Forza Horizon 6 requires an SSD, Playground Games has not yet provided storage requirements.

One of 2026's most highly anticipated PC games, Forza Horizon 6 takes players to Japan, the most requested setting since the franchise's inception. Players can visit locations based on landmarks such as Shibuya Crossing, Ginkgo Avenue, Tokyo Tower, the C1 loop, Mt. Haruna, and Bandai Azuma while collecting stamps, photographs, and rare aftermarket vehicles.

In the primary game mode, Horizon Festival, players start out driving ordinary cars and gradually unlock supercars by competing in races to gather seven wristbands from across the country. However, a new "Discover Japan" mode features unofficial races with immediate access to sports cars. Forza Horizon 6 also introduces enhanced car and garage customization features, obstacle courses, and other new content.

The game is set to arrive on Xbox Series consoles, the Microsoft Store, and Steam on May 19, with a PlayStation 5 version coming sometime later. All versions support cross-save.

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Playing Forza Horizon 6 with ray tracing won't require high-end GPUs

 

[The Talking Tech]

Forza Horizon is hands down gaming's best racing franchise. I'm glad that this looks to be a Game of the Year Contender already.

 

[Phylop]

I'm looking forward to this game, Japan should be a wonderful place to explore.

I find this part of the article most intriguing, and I hope more games do things like this:

"Unlike prior entries in the popular arcade racing series, Forza Horizon 6 will enable players to change graphics settings without restarting the game. Furthermore, live previews will show players the effects of visual tweaks in real-time, and monitoring tools will track video and system memory usage. A benchmark is also included."

As for the hardware requirements and performance claims... Read the fine print at the bottom of hardware requirements infographic...

"*Performance will vary based on your PC hardware setup, background tasks, graphics settings, and the use of ray tracing or upscaling technologies."

The headline, beginning of the article and hardware requirements infographic read a little bit like they are implying the game is uniquely capable of achieving impressive graphics performance relative to the hardware, and while I'm not saying this is entirely wrong, it's just much less impressive as I assume most of these hardware requirement/performance claims also require DLSS, FSR, or some other upscaling/frame generation tech be enabled. Maybe it's just me being used to the world of PC hardware and games before these technologies existed.