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Forza Horizon 6 is officially out now, with Playground Games' latest racing adventure speeding onto the scene as of today, May 19. Prior to the global release, the premium edition also granted four days of Early Access, so you may have already gotten behind the wheel if you bagged yourself the upgrade.
In the lead up to launch, the new game in one of the best racing games series has already been shifting gears on Metacritic, with it overtaking the likes of Pokemon Pokopia and Resident Evil Requiem in terms of score. And speaking of scores, you can get our very own verdict in our Forza Horizon 6 review.
Forza Horizon 6 release date
The Forza 6 Horizon release date of May 19, 2026 has arrived, meaning you can now play the racing adventure on Xbox Series X and PC.
As our Forza Horizon 6 release times guide detailed, those who pre-ordered the Premium edition or purchased the Premium upgrade of Forza Horizon 6 could also get behind the wheel four days ahead of launch, with the Early Access period kicking off on May 15, 2026.
The news of the global release date came our way during the recent Xbox Developer Direct showcase on January 22.
A Spring release date was already in the wild before the May date was officially confirmed thanks to it seemingly surfacing in an advertisement in Forza Horizon 5. The Forza Horizon 6 PS5 release date is yet to be confirmed, but it's expected to drop "later in 2026".
Forza Horizon 6 platforms
Forza Horizon 6 is set to come to Xbox Series X and PC when it arrives in May, with a release on PS5 to follow "post-launch" later on this year.
That's right, Forza Horizon 6 is set to be a timed Xbox exclusive on console, which means that PS5 players will also be able to rev their engines down the line and hit the roads of Japan. You can also find Forza Horizon 6 on Xbox Game Pass.
We don't yet know how long after launch we can expect to see the PS5 version speed into the picture, but hopefully we'll learn more soon.
Forza Horizon 6 trailers
The very first Forza Horizon 6 trailer (which you can watch above) that dropped during Tokyo Game Show 2025 was a teaser in every sense of the word. Showing off the various locations we've seen throughout the series over the years, it showed off license plates for the likes of Colorado, which set the scene for the first Forza Horizon, right on through to Mexico in Forza Horizon 5. Then, the trailer ended with a shot over Mount Fuji to reveal the new setting of Japan, before the title appeared for Forza Horizon 6.
While the first trailer served as an announcement and location teaser more than anything else, we finally saw more of Forza Horizon 6 (with some actual cars) in a teaser from the 2026 Xbox Developer Direct, which you can watch for yourself below.
Forza Horizon 6 Japan setting
Forza Horizon 6's Japan setting lets you drive around various landmarks and key points of interest, including Tokyo city. In an interview with GamesRadar+, art director Don Arceta and cultural consultant Kyoko Yamashita revealed more about the work the team at Playground Games has done to capture not just the scenery of Japan, but its spirit and culture. Yamashita, who has lived in Japan and driven around it many times, worked closely with the team to, in the words of Arceta, be "authentic and respectful" in their approach to bringing to life Japan for Forza Horizon 6.
"We never set out to make a location one-to-one," Arceta says. "It's always capturing the spirit of the location, and trying to do that in an authentic way and obviously a respectful way. We use a lot of real life data as much as we can to build our world; so a lot of satellite data for the terrain, we take a lot of 3D scans of objects actually on location, a lot of reference photography. We capture skies. So, you know, there's a lot there that we take".
Not unlike the way Forza Horizon 5 strived to immerse us in the culture of Mexico, Forza Horizon 6 tries to do much the same for Japan.
"Japan's a breathtaking location, but I think they'll be surprised just how much more of the culture we've tried to integrate into Horizon 6 outside of just the location," Arceta continues. "So obviously there's car culture, but there's different festivals and other cultural aspects that we actually wanted to inject a lot more into this game. I think we kind of dipped our toe in that a bit with Horizon 5. But working closely with Kyoko, I think people will be surprised; they'll probably learn a bit more about this location than they might expect."
Forza Horizon 6 map
Thanks to our interview with the studio, we first learned that Forza Horizon 6 has the biggest map yet with its version of Japan. Describing the setting as a place that's "full of contrasts", Arceta shed light on the fact that team set out to create "new driving experiences that capture the location", with everything from "tight city streets", to "mountain roads and nice open plains".
Playground also first revealed in an Xbox Wire post following the Xbox Developer Direct that the map is be separated into distinct districts, from suburbs dotted around the outskirts of Tokyo, to the docklands. You can also cruise by iconic landmarks like the Shibuya Crossing, Ginko Avenue, and Tokyo Tower.
The map is not only be big, "but also dense", with so many things to see and do "around every corner". With the fullest map yet, there's plenty of activities and races to get stuck into.
Tokyo city is one of the key locations, which Arceta told us is "complex and layered", and that it's the most ambitious city the team has created in the Forza Horizon 6 series so far. Arceta also pointed out the elevated roads it features, which were actually created by leveraging the technology used to make the Forza Horizon 5 Hot Wheels expansion that featured looping orange tracks.
Forza Horizon 6 gameplay
As initially detailed in the Xbox Wire post, Forza Horizon 6's gameplay sees you get involved in the Horizon Festival as a tourist rather than a professional driver. This certainly sets it apart from the campaigns in the likes of Forza Horizon 4 and 5, which saw you building up a career behind the wheel.
Playground Games is taking this approach to drive discovery as you explore the new setting: "Somehow, it felt right in this game to just put you on the ground – like you just got off the plane, you've got a couple of friends that share your dream and know the surroundings," design director Torben Ellert tells Xbox Wire. "It's a notional projection of yourself in the game, and the thrill of arriving in a new place full of opportunities"
As Ellert goes on to explain, Forza Horizon 6 also features its own twist on the wristband progression systems we've seen in games past - where you would rise through the ranks. To connect to its exploration forward direction, you have what's known as a Collection Journal, which is inspired by Japan's stamp collecting history. In it, you'll be able to build up a collection of digital mementos you've discovered throughout Japan, and it'll act like a visual representation of your journey through the campaign.
Forza Horizon 6 also introduces Car Meets, which are designed to reflect the car culture of Japan. Serving a social space, there are three locations in-game where permanent Car Meets take place, and you can go there to meet up with other real players to check out their cars, download custom paint jobs and designs, and purchase more cars for your collection.
As we touched on in our initial Forza Horizon 6 preview ahead of release, the next entry in the racing series is bringing in improvements based on player requests, with additions such as the ability to place liveries on the windows of your cars. The ultimate aim is to bring to life an "open-world driving game for everyone".
Forza Horizon 6 cars
We've gotten to see some of the Forza Horizon 6 cars that will be in the next entry, with Playground Games revealing the official cover cars will be the 2025 GR GT Prototype and the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser.
"The 2025 GR GT Prototype is really special to us because it's our hero cover car, but it's also a car that you drive as part of what we call the Initial Experience," Ellert tells Xbox Wire. "It's the first 10 minutes of the game where you get to drive the car, almost as a prelude. You get to do some off-roading in The Alps, race the Shinkansen (bullet train), and get a taste of what's to come."
Playground Games dropped footage (which you can watch below) of the initial opening drive that will welcome you into Forza Horizon 6, where you can see the cover car 2025 GR GT Prototype in action (at the 4:54 minute mark) as it speeds towards the Horizon Festival.
For a comprehensive breakdown of all of the vehicles you can speed around Japan in, our Forza Horizon 6 cars list has you covered, and if you're hunting for more, our Forza Horizon 6 treasure cars and Forza Horizon 6 fastest car guides are here to help.
Getting stuck into Playground Games' latest adventure? Be sure to check out our Forza Horizon 6 assists guide for your controllers.
