Forza Horizon 6 Is Here — Japan Was Worth the Wait
Forza Horizon 6 lands in Japan with the franchise's biggest map ever, 550+ cars, and new co-op features. Here's what you need to know.
After years of fan requests, Playground Games finally took the Horizon Festival to Japan — and honestly? It was worth every second of the wait. Forza Horizon 6 officially launched on May 19 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it's already shaping up to be the best entry in the franchise.
Tokyo Like You've Never Seen It
The game's centerpiece is a stylized Tokyo metropolitan area that dwarfs anything Horizon has done before. The urban section alone is reportedly five times larger than any previous Horizon city — and that's before you factor in the mountainous terrain surrounding it.
If you've ever wanted to drift through neon-drenched Shibuya streets at 2am or carve touge passes on fog-covered mountain roads, Forza Horizon 6 is basically that fantasy made real. The map variety is incredible, bouncing between dense city blocks, coastal expressways, and winding highland circuits.
Over 550 Cars to Mess Around With
The roster comes in at 550+ real-world vehicles at launch, with everything from classic Japanese legends like the Mazda RX-7 and Honda NSX to modern hypercars. Playground has leaned hard into the JDM angle here, which is going to make a lot of gearheads very happy.
The new customizable Player House garages let you actually show off your collection instead of just accessing it through menus. It's a small thing but it makes the whole experience feel more personal.
Co-Op Is Finally a Real Feature
Previous Horizon games bolted multiplayer on as an afterthought. Horizon 6 flips that. The new LINK co-op system lets you earn skills alongside friends in real time, with shared Drag Meets and Time Attack Circuits that just... exist in the open world. No loading screens, no matchmaking lobbies — you pull up, race, done.
In-world leaderboards show up on the actual track surfaces, so you can see exactly whose time you need to beat. It's a genuinely clever integration.
Accessibility Gets a Real Upgrade
Playground also shipped a new High Contrast mode that makes the massive open world readable for players with visual impairments. It's the franchise's most ambitious accessibility push yet, and it sets a bar for open-world racing games going forward.
What About PS5?
Xbox and PC players can jump in now. PlayStation 5 owners will have to wait — a PS5 version is confirmed but doesn't have a release date yet. Given how well Forza Horizon 5 performed after coming to PlayStation, it'll almost certainly land there eventually.
Premium edition buyers got a head start with early access on May 15, so if you're seeing a wave of Tokyo racing clips all over your feed this week, now you know why.
Is It Worth It?
If you're already a Horizon fan, this is a no-brainer. The Japan setting gives the franchise the creative shot in the arm it needed after Mexico, and the co-op improvements alone make it worth revisiting even if you drifted away from the series. Grab it on Game Pass if you're not ready to commit — but fair warning, you probably will be after the first hour.
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