They range from completing your first Job to clearing the first Qualifier. Campaign progression revolves around obtaining Wristbands to ascend to higher ranks, culminating in becoming a Horizon Legend. Of course, the game doesn’t end there – you’ll receive access to Legend Island, where only the best congregate.

Interestingly, even exploration has its own associated progression with Stamps. What happens when you collect them all and become a Master Explorer? Unclear, but you should roam Japan freely whenever possible. It unfogs the map and presents Aftermarket Cars as custom, affordable vehicles that may come in handy during specific events. Of course, there are also 200 Bonus Boards and Regional Mascots to smash, and even an Achievement for attending a Car Meet and parking the 2025 GR GT Prototype.

Forza Horizon 6 launches on May 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC, with the PS5 version available later this year. Check out the full map, which Playground calls its “most dense and vertical yet,” or watch the Prologue with its eclectic mix of sights, sounds and premium vehicles. Expect even more details in the coming weeks, especially as the Art of Driving series, which spotlights Japanese artists who crafted murals, billboards and more for the game, continues.

You’ll often spot them by their sleek body kits – the 2003 Honda S2000 can have a rather fetching Rocket Body look – and unique parts (Duke Dynamics on a 2015 McLaren 570S Coupe? Why not). They’ll sometimes appear during Festival Races, serving as an attractive option, but you’ll find the vast majority out in the open. The key takeaway? They’re cheap as heck.

As design director Torben Ellert explains to Xbox Wire, that’s by design. “It’s a subtle suggestion of ‘hey, try this car out, take this car to this event’ – and it’s my hope that more people will experience these wonderful machines by us placing them in the open world, and making them cheaper to purchase.”

Considering this is the first Forza Horizon to feature a fog of war, where the map gradually becomes unclouded as you explore, it’s a great way to encourage exploration. You could also view it as one of many important stops on your journey through Japan – perfect for the new Collection Journal.

“This new system is designed to tell you where you have been and what you have seen in a really legible way. We have this rule with all of the Discover Japan content, where if you find it, you can play it,” said Ellert.

“Ultimately, freedom is a core design pillar for us – we’ve really tried to not force you to go and do a specific thing, but instead, tempt you into going and doing them.”

Of course, there’s plenty more to discover, from the time-honored tradition of Barnyard Finds to Drag Races, Time Attack Races, and the new Horizon Rush events. Since this is Playground Games’ “most dense and vertical map yet,” you’ll be spending as much time working your way through the Horizon Festival ranks as discovering the magic of Japan.

Forza Horizon 6 launches on May 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC alongside Game Pass. It includes over 550 cars alongside new customization options, including window decals.

Starting with a drive through the countryside in a 2024 Nissan GT-R Nismo alongside a bullet train while Scott Tyler calls out through Horizon Bass Arena, it quickly transitions to the Alps. In this section, you’ll control a 2021 RJ Anderson #37 Polaris RZR Pro 4 Truck, hitting some sick jumps and spraying snow everywhere to a screaming crowd.

The next spot looks to offer some Eurobeat and vehicles meant for Initial D, but quickly transitions to J-Pop and the wheel of a 1995 Porsche 911 GT2. This is an example of the new Togue race event, though the sheer lack of drifting left me wanting. It all culminates in the only way that a Prologue should – a convoy to the Festival Site, this time in the 2025 GR GT Prototype.

Long story short, that’s one way to drum up hype for a racing game, but it’s only a slice of what can be expected when Forza Horizon 6 launches on May 19th. Check out the full map of Horizon Japan here, or learn more about the artists that Playground teamed up with for some stunning in-game murals. You can also look forward to more details when hands-on previews drop later today.

“The first stop takes us north to Tohoku,” says Chen in the video. “Tohoku isn’t the first place most people think of when they imagine Japan. It’s colder, quieter, and a little more rugged.” In explaining the choice of using a Land Cruiser for the journey, Chen said, “For a journey through snow-covered mountain passes, there’s really only one choice.” The entirety of the first episode has a runtime of around 21 minutes. With two more episodes to go, the series will feature three more of the nine artists.

Playground Games had announced that it had tied up with nine Japanese artists to create murals for the game earlier this week. In the announcement, DRAGON76 had spoken about making a mural that blends contemporary fashion and cyberpunk elements with inspirations from the Nebuta Festival.

“The Nebuta Festival features massive, illuminated floats called ‘nebuta,’ constructed from washi paper and wire, often depicting figures from Japanese mythology. For this piece, I reimagined one of the most frequently portrayed mythological figures, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, along with a dragon, and rendered them in a near-futuristic style,” he said.

The studio has also given us our first look at the full map of Forza Horizon 6. Through this, the studio has also revealed that players will get to explore various scenic areas, ranging from the snowy Japanese Alps in the north to the bustling downtown streets of Tokyo City.

Among the routes through which players can drive are the C1 Inner Circular Route, which comes in at 14.8 kilometers, and Ginkgo Avenue, which features more than 140 ginkgo trees along its 300-meter stretch. The studio has also gone as far as to call Forza Horizon 6’s Japan “our most dense and vertical map yet.”​

While the in-game map will be far from realistic when compared to real-world Japan, design director Torben Ellert has noted that full accuracy wasn’t the studio’s intention. Rather, it was “more about the feel” of traveling through Japan’s varied locales.

“It’s easy to think of an authentic space as a recreation of a place, but it’s less about that accuracy, and more about the feel of it,” explained Ellert. “If you think about driving in Tokyo, for example, what does that look like? What are the things that make it feel like this place? You’d see it in the distance from the freeways, before passing through the suburbs, then suddenly you’re in downtown, surrounded by skyscrapers.”

Forza Horizon 6 is being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. A Premium Edition is available for pre-order, giving players advanced access on May 15th.

For instance, the mountain passes where the new Togue Battles take place. You’ll venture across Mt. Haruna and Bandai Azuma, navigating perilous turns and perfecting those drifts. If you look closely enough, one route leads to an area surrounded by mountains, which should be utterly gorgeous.

Then there are routes like C1 Inner Circular Route, an expressway loop that measures 14.8 kilometers – ideal for street racing at night. Ginkgo Avenue isn’t nearly as long, but the 300-meter-long road offers over 140 ginkgo trees to admire. It’s one of many things that encourages players to slow down and really discover Japan when they’re not gunning for the top.

Of course, the fact that Playground Games refers to it as “our most dense and vertical map yet” is also notable. If you’re someone looking for a new open world to sink dozens of hours into, that may be music to your ears.

Forza Horizon 6 launches on May 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC, with Premium Edition owners receiving access on May 15th. It will also be available on PS5 later this year.

Nine artists are featured and will be showcased across the three-part “Art of Driving” series. A trailer is available along with additional details for three: Satoshi Fujita (also known as Dragon76), Kazuhisa Uragami and Inko Ai Takita. Fujita created a mural inspired by the Nebuta Festival, but in a more contemporary fashion with some cyberpunk elements.

“The Nebuta Festival features massive, illuminated floats called ‘nebuta,’ constructed from washi paper and wire, often depicting figures from Japanese mythology. For this piece, I reimagined one of the most frequently portrayed mythological figures, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, along with a dragon, and rendered them in a near-futuristic style,” he said.

Uragami created something of a “noble outsider,” based on mythology, maritime history and more. “Rather than depicting a simple outlaw, I envisioned a ‘noble outsider’ — a figure guided by personal justice and independence. I merged the pirate image with mechanical elements, incorporating gears and metal components into the costume to reflect Kyushu’s industrial heritage.”

It’s definitely akin to the usual pirate outfit but with clockwork gears and a stunning red scarf, which is “a tribute to classic Japanese hero imagery, while also symbolizing Kyushu as a ‘land of fire’. In the background, I depicted an industrial landscape inspired by Kitakyushu’s factories, adding sparks and glowing light reminiscent of steelworks to express enduring craftsmanship and strength.”

Takita went a different route, creating nine manga-style characters that you can see in Shibuya Crossing billboards. These include Mr Hot Bun Man, based on the delicacy from Gyoda City; Jun, inspired by Junji Ito; Sakura Fukatsu, who will remind you of urban myths while dressed in a kimono from the Edo period; and more.

Keep in mind that these are only three artists – stay tuned for more details on the remaining six, and look forward to seeing their works in Forza Horizon 6 when it launches on May 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Hands-on previews are slated to go live on April 8th.

And as if the hype wasn’t already through the roof, we’re going to be getting a peek into what the franchise’s Japanese chapter has in store for us, thanks to a hands-on preview from Jake Brigstock, who posted about getting some time with the game for indy100 on April 8th, 6 AM PT. Presumably, other outlets will go hands-on with the open-world racer as well, thus providing much more gameplay.

The preview follows some new trailers detailing returning cars, a new approach to Showcase events, the addition of window decals on its cars, and some new insights on Tokyo, all of which have steadily built up hype ahead of the game’s launch on May 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC.

It’s a great time to be a Forza fan, or somebody looking to play it on a PlayStation for the first time in the franchise’s history (though that version arrives later this year). Either way, it’s time to rev those engines up and steady your hands on the wheel as you prepare to take on winding roads and lush scenes of Japan.

I'll be previewing Forza Horizon 6 for indy100 (honestly can't wait for this one) – embargo lifts Wednesday 8 April at 2pm BST (9am ET / 6am PT) so keep an eye out for our coverage.Access has been provided by @xbox.com. #ForzaHorizon #ForzaHorizon6 #Forza #Xbox #Gaming

— Jake Brigstock (@jakebrigstock.bsky.social) 2026-03-30T16:02:34.100Z

The former offers a 1.5-liter engine with 200 bhp, and while the jury is still out on whether it’s manual or CVT, its suspension and aerodynamics still make for a seamless driving experience. If you’re looking for a bit more power, the 2022 Acura NSX Type S is sure to impress. Between the 1.5L L-Series turbocharged engine and the ability to go from zero to 60 miles per hour at an eye-watering 97 km/h, it’s a must-have.

However, there’s also a newcomer to the roster – the 2022 Honda e. As the company’s first full-electric vehicle, it’s a supermini with a solid mix of retro aesthetics and modern functionality. It may not put up the fastest times, but for a more comfy drive exploring Japan, it’s more than serviceable.

Of course, there’s plenty more to see, especially with Forza Horizon 6 launching on May 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC, and that’s not even including all the post-launch cars. Stay tuned for updates and check out details on a new event type, Horizon Rush, which aims to mix replay value with Showcase-level spectacle.

It’s a problem that hasn’t escaped Playground Games’ notice. Level design director Tom Dillow noted to IGN how, “We went back and looked at our telemetry from Forza Horizon 5, focusing in on Showcase events. And we noticed, for the most part, our Showcases are one-and-done.

“So the player gets given the Showcase as a reward, they go there and have an amazing three minutes, but then they drive off, and there’s no incentive to return. Now, we do try to remedy this in our live program, where we’ll take an existing showcase and we will change the time of day and the weather and the car choice and the music, and we find a lot of our players will return and play that event, but once that’s done, they drive off and there’s no incentive to return again.”

With Forza Horizon 6, it’s trying something different: Horizon Rush. Unlocked by earning wristbands during your Horizon Career, there are three available at launch, with locations ranging from a Tokyo City dockyard and Alpine ski resort to a spaceport. Akin to obstacle courses, you have to essentially beat the timer. The difference is that these are replayable and also support co-op and competitive play.

While they’re not as bombastic as the two new Showcase Events (though Dillow notes that they “may or may not make a rocket take off” so look out for that in the spaceport) – Horizon Rush introduces some much-needed replay value.

“If we build these amazing events, we want our players to enjoy them over and over again. And then we asked ourselves, what does replayability mean to us? And for us, it was a high score, or a better time. It was course mastery – so being easy to play the first time, but hard to master. And, most importantly for me as a level designer, it was about it being fun. If it’s not fun, I’m not going to go and return and play it. So that’s what replayability meant to us.”

Event Lab from Forza Horizon 5 also served as an inspiration for these courses, though Playground Games has designed the locations to tailor to the courses first and foremost. “The Rush courses take place in our gameplay locations, which are whiteboxed by level design and have a heavy focus on gameplay,” says Dillow. “Typically, in previous games we would build the whole location in one go and work events in afterwards; however, this time we built the Rush courses first and then built the locations around them.”

“Each Rush course starts off with a paper design, so with the docks, for example, we knew we wanted to begin on a rooftop, drive through some containers, enter an off-road section, then finish at the warehouses. Instead of building the docks and then trying to work this route in afterwards, we built the course first in isolation and then built the rest of the dockyard around that course. This ensured a premium quality experience for Rush and a final result we’re very proud of.”

Whether Playground Games will add more in the future or even make the event a permanent fixture of the franchise remains to be seen. For now, it’s a means to compete against others, but more importantly, oneself, as they attempt to master whatever Horizon Rush throws at them.

Fortunately, we won’t have long to see what that may be, as Forza Horizon 6 launches on May 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC (though PS5 players will need to wait till later this year). Check out the admittedly reasonable system requirements here.

For those seeking the utmost in visual fidelity, a Core i7-12700K or Ryzen 7 7700X, 32 GB of RAM, an RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT, and an NVMe SSD are necessary. This is on Extreme settings with ray tracing enabled (which applies to reflections and global illumination), targeting 60+ FPS and an upscaled 4K resolution. One has to wonder if an even stronger graphics card would be capable of native 4K.

Regardless, there are plenty of options available for smooth performance, including support for Nvidia DLSS 4, AMD FSR 3/4 and Intel XeSS 2.1. Uncapped frame rates and ultrawide monitors are also enabled, while Playground Games promises “robust” controller and wheel support. If that wasn’t enough, it’s tuned for the Xbox ROG Ally and Steam Deck, though performance parameters have yet to be revealed. Interestingly, the installation space remains a mystery.

Launching on May 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC, Forza Horizon 6 is a massive step-up from its predecessor, offering the developer’s biggest and most packed map to date. Such is the sheer size that Tokyo City is effectively its own biome and five times larger than any previous city.