During Xbox’s Tokyo Game Show 2025 broadcast, the company officially announced the next Forza Horizon game, Forza Horizon 6. As suspected, it’s set in Japan and will launch in 2026 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, with a PlayStation 5 release to come later. It’s still relatively early days for the next Forza Horizon game, but for now, here’s everything we know about the game.
When will Forza Horizon 6 be released?
Forza Horizon 6 is coming in 2026. A more specific date has not been announced, but fans can wishlist the game now.
Forza Horizon 6 platforms
Forza Horizon 6 is in development for Xbox Series X|S and PC, with a PlayStation 5 release to follow sometime post-launch. Microsoft also recently announced Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 for PS5, and these releases are part of Microsoft’s strategy of launching its own games on rival platforms to bring in more money. In fact, a report said Microsoft may bring all of its big games to PS5.
Will Forza Horizon 6 be on Game Pass?
Forza Horizon 6 is a new game from Xbox Game Studios, so it will be available at launch on Xbox Game Pass for console and PC.
Forza Horizon 6 setting
The Forza Horizon series has taken players to places like France, Italy, Mexico, Australia, and Great Britain. There was much speculation and intrigue about where the franchise might go next, and the answer is Japan. Why Japan? In a blog post, Playground Games said Japan is perfect for a Forza Horizon game because it has “such a unique culture, from cars, to music, to fashion.” The developer also stated that Japan was a much-requested location from players.
Microsoft worked with cultural consultant Kyoko Yamashita to help ensure Forza Horizon 6 gets the details right. “I love the coexistence of Japan: a neighborhood shrine beside a small workshop beside a neon arcade–traditional and modern on the same block. There is so much scope and inspiration to be explored with Japan, and the richness felt like a natural fit for this game,” Yamashita said.
The teaser trailer for Forza Horizon 6 showed off Mount Fuji, but what other sights will players get to see in the game? It’s still early days, Microsoft said, but the company promised the game will highlight the “natural and urban environments” of Japan.
“From the neon lights and towering buildings of Tokyo City–one of our most detailed and layered environments to date–to the serenity and natural beauty of Japan’s rural and mountain areas, we think players will be blown away by the open world of Japan that we have built,” Playground said.
Yamashita was hired by Microsoft to be the creative consultant in part because Japan is a place that can be “widely misread when you only see it from afar,” he explained.
“The team wanted to present more than a postcard or a backdrop; they wanted a lived-in world. Having a cultural consultant early helps you make a thousand small, respectful decisions: how neighborhoods sound, even what a sign color communicates about a shop. Those small choices add up to credibility and help avoid stereotypes, while also making it a truly immersive experience for players,” Yamashita said.
“Throughout the process of building the game, we have treated authenticity as a practice, not a checkbox. I’m embedded in decision cycles –scripts, visuals, and audio–asking questions like, ‘What would this street feel like at dusk in late summer?’ or ‘Which sound anchors this scene: traffic or a station chime?'”
Japanese car culture
Japan has a long history of car culture, and Forza Horizon 6 aims to reflect that.
“In Japanese car culture, the depth and diversity is astonishing,” Yamashita said. “Kei cars and vans with cult followings, precision motorsport, drifting’s roots, and their passion for customization really stands out. It’s welcoming to different levels of enthusiasm and knowledge, which is exactly the kind of layered world I want players to feel.”
Changing seasons
Similar to past entries in the Forza Horizon series, Forza Horizon 6 will be an open-world game that features “true-to-life” seasons.
“Japan features some of the most well-known, beautiful seasonal changes in the world–sweltering summers, snowy winters and, of course, the iconic Sakura season, those precious weeks where cherry blossoms bloom across the country,” Microsoft said.
The seasonal changes in Forza Horizon 6 will have a “dramatic impact on the landscape and playable world,” Playground said.
“The team has also been able to build a system where seasonal changes truly inform the world–how spring, summer, autumn, and winter subtly shift tone, activity, and sound,” Yamashita said. “The team is also really proud of the attention to everyday details: ambient audio like station chimes or summer wind bells that instantly place you without a caption. Those are quiet choices, but they carry a lot of truth.”
Gameplay
The Forza Horizon 6 trailer was only a brief teaser trailer, and it had no gameplay footage in it. As for when gameplay will arrive, Microsoft said fans can expect to see the game in action in “early 2026.”
What about the Forza Motorsport series?
2023’s Forza Motorsport, from developer Turn 10, is the newest entry in that series. No future games have been announced, and Turn 10 saw mass layoffs as part of Microsoft’s latest round of cuts. According to former developers, the entire Forza Motorsport series may now be dead. Developer Turn 10 has not completely folded, however, as Microsoft’s announcement of Forza Horizon 6 today also included the confirmation that Turn 10 is assisting in bringing Forza Horizon 6 to PS5.
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