Forza Horizon 6 is racing onto the scene with its biggest playground yet: a sprawling Japan setting anchored by Tokyo and wrapped in mountain passes, neon boulevards, and winding coastal asphalt. Launching May 19 on Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Game Pass (with a PlayStation 5 release planned later this year), the new entry brings 550+ cars, deeper progression with wristbands and a new Legend Island endgame, robust social play, and plenty of customization—from the car you tune to the garage you decorate and the estate you build. If you’ve ever wanted to cruise Tokyo at night before shredding tires on a foggy touge run, buckle up.
Welcome to Japan, built for speed and style
Playground Games is taking Horizon to Japan, and the studio isn’t shy: this is the largest open world they’ve built for the series. Tokyo serves as the mega-urban centerpiece, with districts that feel distinct—from glitzy shopping arteries to business towers and lantern-lit side streets—while just a highway hop away you’ll find countryside lanes, coastal roads, and mountain routes inspired by real-world icons. The world leans into verticality, letting you snake up and down slopes and overpasses instead of sticking to flat grids. Expect familiar vibes from Tokyo’s ring roads and famous avenues, alongside routes that channel classic mountain pass energy.
That scale matters because Horizon is all about how a place feels at speed. The Tokyo area promises the most expansive urban driving the series has seen, with room for high-speed drafting, late-brake dashes through tunnels, and flowing technical sections where a well-balanced car really shines. By day, it’s a postcard; by night, it’s pure atmosphere—neon, reflections, and the hum of tuned machines.
From tourist to legend: the wristband climb
You’ll start as a tourist, but the goal is to become a local legend. The progression is shaped around qualifiers and wristbands that unlock faster events and tougher rivals. Classic Showcase spectacles return, and new Rush obstacle courses aim to compress that festival flair into bite-sized adrenaline shots. It’s all tracked in your Adventure Journal, which catalogs not just your cars, but the sights you’ve seen, houses you’ve bought, and even mascots you’ve discovered along the way.
Hit gold wristband status and the game opens up Legend Island, a premium playground stacked with exclusive tracks and challenges. Think of it as a proving ground where the cars you’ve tuned and the skills you’ve sharpened get pushed that little bit further. It’s the kind of endgame that rewards a full garage and a fearless right foot.
Your rides, your space: garages and The Estate
Collecting cars is only half the fun. Forza Horizon 6 lets you store and showcase your fleet in fully customizable garages available at every player house. Decorate them, stage your favorites, curate themes—retro rally corner over here, track monsters over there. It’s a satisfying way to live with your collection rather than shoving it into a menu.
Then there’s The Estate: a vast mountain valley where you can build and expand a personal abode. It’s permanent, it’s yours, and friends can visit. Imagine pulling up in convoy at sunset, showing off your latest livery, and then heading out as a pack for a twilight sprint through switchbacks. The Horizon fantasy has always been about cars and community; The Estate makes that community feel grounded in a place you’ve shaped.
550+ cars, new aero, deeper class balance
The garage is going to fill quickly. At launch, Horizon 6 boasts over 550 vehicles, spanning classics, modern icons, and track-focused beasts. The roster is balanced across performance classes from the relaxed D class to a new R Class built to let serious hardware stretch its legs. Expect fresh body kits and Forza Aero options that can shift your build from show car to grip monster, and—finally—window livery painting for that extra touch of personality.
Audio gets love too. Playground is tuning how engines, turbos, and exhausts sound across different environments, and cosmetic tire wear helps your car tell the story of a hard-fought sprint. Together, these touches make every pull, downshift, and dab of opposite lock feel a little more tactile.
Meetups, touge, and seamless time attacks
Social play takes a step forward with open-world car meets. Roll up, pop your hood, and trade ideas. You can download tunes and liveries on the spot or buy a copy of a build that steals your heart. From there, set out with your crew for impromptu street races or late-night touge battles down the mountain. These downhill duels are tailor-made for compact powerhouses and balanced FR setups, but don’t be surprised if someone shows up with a wild AWD build and rewrites the script.
There are also Horizon Time Attack Circuits that you can jump into without awkward menus or matchmaking screens. Think of them as world-embedded challenges—drive up, set a lap, and instantly compare with friends and locals. Horizon is at its best when it blurs the line between free roam and events, and this approach keeps you in the flow.
Accessibility so everyone can drive
Accessibility features from previous games return, joined by new options like a customizable high-contrast mode and a proximity radar to help with situational awareness. There’s also auto-drive for anyone who wants to soak up the scenery or take the wheel at their own pace. It’s good to see these tools expand; Horizon is a series worth sharing with as many players as possible.
What I can’t wait to try first
- A midnight cruise through Tokyo’s largest-ever Horizon city, then a spontaneous touge session as the sun rises.
- Building a garage theme—JDM legends on one side, time-attack builds on the other—and swapping liveries until it feels just right.
- Testing the new R Class with a track-tuned weapon, then detuning it for a street-legal version to hit the urban loops.
- Hosting a meet at The Estate before a convoy drive to a coastal sprint. Photo ops guaranteed.
Day-one tips for new drivers
- Start smaller than you think: a well-sorted B or A class car will teach you the new roads better than a twitchy hypercar.
- Use the Adventure Journal as your to-do list. If you’re overwhelmed by icons, let the Journal guide your next collectible, landmark, or event.
- Try multiple drivetrain layouts on the mountain roads. FR cars are drift-friendly, AWD is forgiving, and MR can carve with precision if you’re smooth.
- Visit car meets early. Nabbing a smart tune or a livery you love can change how you approach the map.
Big questions I’m watching
- How will day-night cycles reshape Tokyo’s traffic density and event layouts?
- Will seasonal conditions or weather systems meaningfully change the touge feel from week to week?
- How deep does The Estate’s building go—pure aesthetics, or light sim elements?
- What does post-launch support look like for new cars and districts?
The final lap
Forza Horizon 6 looks like the series at full throttle: an enormous, personality-filled world that mixes city swagger with mountain grit, a car list that lets you manifest any vision, and social tools that make it easy to race, show off, and build together. May 19 can’t come fast enough for Xbox Series X/S and PC players, and the Game Pass launch means there’s a massive grid waiting at the line. If you’re holding out for the PlayStation 5 release later this year, keep those engines warm—Tokyo’s calling, and the road is wide open.
