Forza Horizon 6 devs worked "closely" with a cultural consultant to ensure they were being "authentic and respectful" with the racing game's Japan setting
Playground Games knows the Japan setting is "something that the fans have been wishing for" from the start of the series

Forza Horizon 6 has been revealed, and it's finally taking racing game fans to Japan – a location that developer Playground Games knows players have been wanting since the start of the series. However, the team wanted to ensure that they were being "authentic and respectful with this location."
Speaking to GamesRadar+, Playground Games art director Don Arceta acknowledges that the upcoming setting has "been something that the fans have been wishing for, ever since Forza Horizon 1, Forza Horizon 2. It's been kind of a dream location for a lot of players. And even as developers of the series, it's been a dream location for us as well." Needless to say, he adds: "So we're so excited not only that it's announced, but that the next game actually is in Japan."
Arceta tells us that choosing a location for the Forza games is "quite a process." He explains: "It's like choosing the location for the Olympics, there's a long list, short list, and there's a lot of discussion.
"This time around, because of the way the games kind of evolved over each iteration, and actually, in the technology that we have grown and developed to actually create these open worlds, it's those two things that now made it the right time for, 'Hey, we can actually do Japan right', because we can only do Japan once and we want to do it right."
Part of this also involved "working closely" with cultural consultant Kyoko Yamashita, "to make sure we're being as authentic and respectful with this location," Arceta adds.
The result, Arceta believes, may leave fans "surprised" with "just how much more of the culture we've tried to integrate into Horizon 6 outside of just the location." He adds: "They'll probably learn a bit more about this location than they might expect."
We'll just have to wait and see what the team has been cooking up when Forza Horizon 6 launches next year.
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I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.
- Heather WaldSenior staff writer
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