The update also makes it easier for players to chase down the Roads Driven percentage challenges, with the Region Overview now prominently showcasing how many roads the player may have discovered. Along with this, inconsistencies in Road Discovery between the Mini Map and the World Map have also been fixed.

When it comes to car upgrades and tuning, the studio has introduced adjustments to Drag Tires that, despite offering enhanced performance thanks to their lateral grip, were reducing a vehicle’s Performance Index. Since this wasn’t intended behaviour, the studio has made it so that Drag Tires stop being the optimal tire choice outside of drag racing events.

Along with this, the PI cost of Drag Tires has been retained, while reducing the tire choice’s cornering performance. The studio has also promised to kick off an ongoing process to fix Leaderboard entries that were dominated by players using Drag Tires for things outside of drag races. “It is important to note that this change only affects the cornering performance of Drag Tires,” explained Playground Games, “so Drag times and Drag Leaderboards will be unaffected by this change.”

Forza Horizon 6 is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S. The studio has also confirmed that it is working on a PS5 version of the game, which is slated for release later this year. In the meantime, check out our review of the racing game, as well as our thoughts on why it has moved beyond the Game Pass argument.

Forza Horizon 6 Series 2 update patch notes:

General

• Performance and stability fixes.
• Fixed an issue where launching the game after running Benchmark Mode would take longer than expected.

AI

• Improvements to difficulty balancing.
• Fixed an issue with Drivatar race start behaviour.

Audio

• Improvements to audio performance on lower specification devices.
• Adjusted the volume of the air vents on the 2010 Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SV.

Badge

• Fixed an issue with the Screechy Clean Badge where progress would only count during a Touge Event.

Design

• Fixed an issue where the Leaderboards would sometimes display the wrong drivetrain.
• Fixed an issue with Convoy Leaderboards where times may not appear consistently for all players in the Convoy at Drag Meets and Time Attack Circuits.

Festival Playlist

• Fixed an issue where some Daily Challenges and a Seasonal Job could be completed ahead of time.
• Fixed an issue where completed Weekly Challenges in a previous Season would be missing the Completed label.
• Fixed an issue where various Daily Challenges across the Seasons did not unlock for some players.

Developer Notes:

• All Daily Challenge Points in Series 1 will be retroactively rewarded to players for each Season they participated in. To claim these, players must visit Series 1 in their Playlist History.

Horizon Play

• Fixed an issue where some players did not unlock Level 12 in Horizon Play until they entered another race Event.
• Adjustments have been made to the amount of XP required between Level 26 and Level 100 in Horizon Play. This will significantly reduce the time required to earn the ‘Maxed Out’ Achievement.

Developer Notes:

• Players who have already made significant progress in Horizon Play (Level 25 and above) will see their level jump significantly and unlock new Badges, and players who have already reached Level 32 will jump to Level 100, unlock Badges and the ‘Maxed Out’ Achievement.

Road Discovery

• Added a Roads Driven percentage to the Region Overview.
• Fixed an issue where two road nodes would never be marked as Undiscovered.
• Fixed inconsistencies in Road Discovery between the Mini Map and World Map.

Visuals

• Fixed a motion blur artefact appearing along the rear of the 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI GSR TM Edition.
• Fixed an issue with inconsistent lighting that occurred when switching between times of day in Photo Mode.
• Fixed an issue where green artefacts could be seen when trying to take a photo through a metal mesh fence.
• Fixed an issue where rain particles were disabled in the ‘High’ Graphics Preset on PC.
• Improvements to the pixelated red smoke appearing in Street Races when using upscaling.

Upgrades & Tuning

• Adjustments have been made to the physics of Drag Tires to align them more with their expected behaviour.

However, there’s always a caveat that hangs over every first-party title at Xbox, especially those that see big player numbers. It happened with Starfield, South of Midnight, and so on. I’m talking about the albatross known as Game Pass.

Which has seen price drops in the Ultimate and PC tiers, and remains one of the best subscriptions in gaming, make no mistake. But when a developer announces “players” instead of “sales,” it always gets one thinking about how financially successful a title has really been.

In Forza Horizon 6’s case, there are some other metrics we can turn to, starting with the Steam top 100 sellers. It’s consistently ranked in the top five best-selling titles globally, occasionally slipping into the number one spot despite heavy competition from Subnautica 2 and 007 First Light slowly nipping at its tyres. Last Sunday, it crossed 300,000 peak concurrent users, making it the biggest Xbox Game Studios title on Steam by a strong margin (Halo Infinite previously held the record, and that was for the free multiplayer mode’s launch).

However, that’s only part of the story and still doesn’t clue us in to the actual sales. This is where estimates from Alinea Analytics come in handy, as the firm reported 4.9 million units sold as of May 22nd – a few days after its worldwide launch. Gross revenue is apparently over $325 million, and while Steam apparently accounts for 2.8 million copies sold, Xbox makes up a healthy 2.1 million copies. It also seems that advanced access had more than its fair share of takers at about 1.7 million – a believable figure, considering that in-game leaderboards showed over 1.4 million players before Standard Edition players got in.

The really interesting part is that on top of the reported 4.9 million copies sold, there were apparently more than three million Game Pass players. This encompassed both PC and Xbox Series X/S, and right away, it seems like the service has cannibalized sales.

Xbox could look at this as a big win for Game Pass, potentially gaining several new subscribers in the process, but I think it goes a bit deeper than that. The Premium Edition Upgrade is one example – it’s essentially a Game Pass subscriber paying nearly the full price of the game to play early. And while we don’t have estimates on exactly how many took that plunge, even 50 percent of the 1.7 million figure is a pretty decent win for the model.

However, if you leave the potential revenue lost from those who experienced it through Game Pass instead of purchasing the game outright – not that there’s a guarantee they would have done so in the first place – the debate goes beyond the service’s effect on full game sales. It shows, once again, that certain titles can thrive, even when a cheaper option to play them is available.

Call it positive word of mouth and buying into the hype. Call it brand loyalty. Heck, you can even think of it in terms of those who just don’t like Game Pass and would rather purchase their games, having that peace of mind with ownership and playing on their own time. But Forza Horizon 6 proves that certain games can facilitate both “players” and “sales” for Microsoft.

We’ve seen this phenomenon before – twice, actually, in 2025. When The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered shadow-dropped and reached four million players in just three days – a testament to the power of the Game Pass model when it came to making high-profile releases so accessible. However, it was also the top-selling game in the United States for April, despite being available for about nine days, and it remained one of the year’s best-selling games.

Then there’s Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur, a game that many believed would be overshadowed by Oblivion Remastered. Not only was this not the case, but it went on to sell 8 million copies in its first year – pretty good for an independent studio with a development budget of under $10 million.

Now you could point to both releases and say they were $50, hence why so many players were encouraged to buy them outright. There’s also the fact that they’re available on PlayStation 5, which would have contributed even more to sales. But that’s the point when it comes to Forza Horizon 6. Despite costing $70 and being available on two platforms – Xbox Series X/S and PC – it’s already posting some insane numbers, official and estimated. And it’s early days yet.

I know it’s nothing as simple as “Make a good game, and it will sell well,” but even without considering the effect that Game Pass has had on a title’s sales, there’s no denying the effect it has on bringing more attention to a game that more than warrants it. Maybe they know nothing about the franchise, and this is their first entry, which actually might be the case for audiences in regions like Japan, given the setting and how well it’s recreated. Alinea seemingly supports this, noting it to be the fourth-best-selling title on Steam last week, compared to Forza Horizon 5 being eighth when it launched. After seeing so many streams and positive buzz, you probably won’t be surprised to hear it’s currently a best-seller in the region.

Maybe there are those motivated to purchase the game outright to keep playing and retain their subscription at the same time (which sounds bizarre, but I assure you – such people exist). And that Premium Edition Upgrade isn’t effectively dead in the water now that early access is over. Once the first paid expansion rolls around, those checking out the base game for the first time may be motivated to spend a little extra just to access it. So it goes.

And if all this wasn’t enough, there’s the third-party card, namely, releasing on PS5, which doesn’t have Game Pass. For every full-priced game sale lost on those that do, it’s probably making back twice that amount when Forza Horizon 6 arrives on PlayStation. After all, the previous game sold over five million copies last year on the same platform, despite originally launching in 2001. It’s almost an understatement that this will perform even better.

To that end, this isn’t about defending Game Pass or the practice of first-party Xbox titles on the surface. Rather, it’s about those titles which can deliver on both sales and players, effectively serving two masters in the process. Can every title achieve this? No, which is why it’s all the more important to celebrate those that do, especially when they’re of such a high quality. Again, not surprising, considering the Forza Horizon series and its pedigree, but it’s certainly a standout example, especially given the ongoing discussion about exclusivity at Xbox.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

This Forza Horizon 6 guide is a shortlist of the five fastest cars to be had in the game, and how to acquire them.

Aston Martin Valhalla Concept Car 2019

R 960

• AWD
• 8.5 Speed
• 10 Acceleration
• 10 Launch

Auction House, Wheelspins, Super Wheelspins.

Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Forza Edition 2019

R 998

• RWD
• 8.2 Speed
• 10 Acceleration
• 10 Launch

Forza Horizon 6 Premium Edition VIP Membership paid DLC. Spawns in your collection.

Ford Supervan 4 2022

R 919

• AWD
• 7.9 Speed
• 10 Acceleration
• 10 Launch

Unlocked via Car Mastery for the Ford Supervan 3 1994, directly to your collection. Auction House.

Koenigsegg Gemera 2024

S2 900

• AWD
• 10 Speed
• 9.7 Acceleration
• 10 Launch

Forza Horizon 6 Car Pass paid DLC. Spawns in your collection.

Porsche 918 Spyder 2014

S2 858

• AWD
• 8.8 Speed
• 10 Acceleration
• 10 Launch

Horizon Play Tier 15, or 2,300,000 CR at Autoshows.

Nissan GT-R Black Edition R35 Forza Edition 2012

S2 850

• RWD
• 10 Speed
• 10 Acceleration
• 10 Launch

Auction House, Wheelspins, Super Wheelspins.

Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae 2021

S1 794

• AWD
• 7.3 Speed
• 9.9 Acceleration
• 9.5 Launch

Complete the Horizon Festival Gold Wristband event.

Porsche 911 Turbo S 2023

S1 774

• AWD
• 7.8 Speed
• 9.3 Acceleration
• 10 Launch

275,000 CR at Autoshows.

BMW M5 CS 2022

S1 730

• AWD
• 7.6 Speed
• 9.5 Acceleration
• 10 Launch

150,000 CR at Autoshows.

Ford Super Duty F-450 DRW PLATINUM Forza Edition 2020

A 700

• AWD
• 7.6 Speed
• 8.7 Acceleration
• 9.8 Launch

Auction House, Wheelspins, Super Wheelspins.

Those are the top 10 fastest stock vehicles to be driven in Forza Horizon 6.

And while Japan certainly does form a crucial part of the game’s allure, there’s more to Horizon 6 than meets the eye. That beautiful map alone isn’t enough to carry the high expectations that come with the franchise’s pedigree, after all. Japan is merely a lovely stage upon which an entire world with nuanced progression, exciting exploration, and excellent reward systems makes your dopamine a source of fuel, blending it well with an adrenaline-fuelled gameplay loop to keep you driving along those winding roads and busy highways.

They feed into each other to ensure that the map constantly pulls you in every possible direction, all at once, while leaving you free to decide where the road takes you next. We came to Horizon 6 for Japan, but stayed because there was always another race to finish, a new road to indulge our addiction, or a reward that we just had to get, sitting just out of reach.

Wondering why? That’s easily explained. Let’s jump in.

Your Success On Your Wrist

The Wristband’s obviously familiar to all you Horizon fans out there, but the way it’s been woven into the very fabric of your time with the Festival this time around is quite intuitive. It isn’t just color-coded bragging rights in an easily accessible cosmetic, but it acts as your ticket to more driving, more rewards, and more fun in Japan.

If you’re new to the whole Wristband thing, they act as progression trackers, with every bit of XP you gain pushing you ever so tantalizingly closer to that next tier. Each new tier unlocks new stuff to do, new car classes, activities, and challenges for you to tackle in new areas of the map. But that’s not all, since you get more of the above in areas you’ve already cleared. See what we mean about the map pulling you in different directions?

It’s a smart way of encouraging players to explore new places and backtrack to older ones, meaning that the entire world is alive instead of feeling like a checklist, a common trap that many great open worlds have fallen victim to. There’s none of that here, fortunately, and what you have on offer is a game that’s constantly refreshing its map in response to you engaging with it.

It’s the beating heart of why this one’s quite hard to walk away from, even if it’s to take a short break. Your progression is tied to exploring the world and engaging with it, and nearly everything you do is pushing you ever closer to that next Wristband tier, and more things for you to enjoy. It’s not just the Wristbands, either, as the Explore Japan system comes with Stamps, another form of progression tracking tied to how much of Japan you’re seeing as you race along.

You can visit popular landmarks, photograph them, and even take on a boring day job as a delivery driver. They’re all great ways to slow down and take in the sights. In a title as gorgeous as this one, that’s even better considering that Japan isn’t just the largest map in the franchise yet, but is interactive enough to make it feel like a living, breathing world that isn’t just a backdrop for driving fancy cars. It’s an important part of the progression loop on offer in the experience.

But being the heart of the experience isn’t enough. Japan’s also a major part of its personality, working well with the activities you take on to give this version of the Horizon Festival a very unique flavour.

Shifting Gears

Horizon 6’s take on Japan isn’t just about where you go, it’s about what you’re going to do once you get there. We’ve already said Japan looks beautiful, but that undercuts the seemingly random structure to the world at large, as it flows from urban streets replete with neon and wild colors to open roads on beautiful plains, the sun glistening off your ride as you take it all in. It’s all so seamless and makes driving so darn enjoyable. This one’s a title where we forgot about the fast-travel system on many occasions, as you never know what you might miss if you choose to skip the next bend in the road.

There’s also a lot of variety in the activities on offer. The Discover Japan system is a welcome diversion from all the racing as a more relaxed alternative, but it wouldn’t have been worth a lot if the races themselves were repetitive. That would definitely be counterproductive to a title that’s aiming to keep you in the driver’s seat for as long as it can, wouldn’t it? But it’s rare for Horizon 6 to point you in the direction of the same thing you were just doing.

You might be at an event that encourages you to adhere to the best possible racing lines on the track. Get that done, and you might find yourself at an event that’s all about controlling off-roaders to the best of your ability before you tackle winding mountain roads where your skills at drifting will be pushed to their limits. The possibilities may be finite, but they do feel endless with this one, and that’s another part of what makes it as addictive as it is.

With Japan being as long-awaited as it’s been over the years, Playground Games has been clever to make engaging it feel like a reward all on its own, changing the flavor of the game’s core driving experience consistently, while the world always has something for you to take on or just enjoy as you’re driving by. But of course, this is a racing title we’re talking about.

It’s time to look at the way Horizon 6 remains appealing to a wide palette of player tastes and skill sets.

Acceptably Accessible

The Horizon Festival’s a pretty welcoming place, allowing rookie and veteran racers alike a platform to grow and improve. The game throws a ton of options to customise the experience to your liking. Are you a casual racing player who just wants the excitement of podium finishes without worrying too much about your car’s weight? You’ve got a bunch of tuning options and assists to make the game bear the brunt of its simulation-focused trappings for you.

Or perhaps you’re an enthusiast who likes every aspect of their car under their control so you can squeeze out every last bit of performance from it? Knock yourself out. Player agency is at the core of it all, and the manner in which it’s been implemented in this one deserves special praise. It makes for an inclusive gameplay loop that doesn’t make demands of players looking for a good time, while remaining challenging enough to have even the most seasoned racers cracking their knuckles before driving off into the distance in search of a new milestone.

You’re left free to figure out a way to have fun that works for you, and the Festival’s excellent vibe makes that quite easy to do. There’s a humming energy that underlines every moment you spend in Japan, making it feel like a celebration of automotive excellence, and a perfect vehicle for the fantasy of engaging with a car culture that’s a global phenomenon, all from the comfort of your favorite chair.

It’s always lovely to see an open-world where progression doesn’t feel like grinding, and the Festival makes playing Horizon 6 a celebration of your love for racing and the things that happen off the track as well. It’s intoxicating in a way that’s both fresh and familiar, and it helps the game fire on all cylinders.

Came For Japan, Stayed For The Gameplay

The best open-worlds do not overwhelm their players with icons, but rather tempt them with next steps that flow organically enough between one another to make the structural strings that bind them invisible. Horizon 6 keeps you in your cars because your next big race, or another exciting discovery, always feels close at hand.

Japan has provided the perfect canvas for Horizon 6 to feel like the franchise’s final form, but it’s far from the only reason for you to become a permanent presence in the Festival’s many activities. Its strength lies in how it connects Japan to the driving, rewards, and progression, making for an ambitious, polished experience that’s high on organic cohesion.

Your Wristbands become more than progression markers that give you bragging rights in the game’s expansive worlds. They are a visible reminder of all the memories that you’ve made along the way to becoming the finest driver Japan’s ever seen. Forza Horizon 6 hits all the right notes because it makes excellent use of a simple facet of any racer: it gives you a reason to keep driving, and interesting reasons to make multiple pitstops along the way.

This is a game that understands momentum and is clever enough to have its players sustain that momentum for themselves every time they get behind the wheel. And on that note, we’re hopping back into our rides to zoom off to whatever Japan has to offer us next. Happy travels!

The development team is currently investigating complaints that AI opponents are a little too fast, “especially at higher difficulties.” It’s also aware of performance issues with AMD GPUs on PC, and fixes are on the way to improve frame rates.

PC players have also noted bugs such as audio crackling, crashes and Invalid Loading errors. While the team has a potential fix in the works for the audio, a hotfix is already live for fixing any Invalid Loading errors. It noted some crashes resulted from unsupported operating systems and hardware that’s below the minimum spec. If you’re on Nvidia, a Turing GPU is a must, while AMD users with Polaris, Vega and older architectures are out of luck.

Of course, this is only the beginning of post-launch support, especially as Playground prepares additional cars and content. The first Festival Playlist, “Welcome to Japan,” is already live, and players can expect a new one each month. There’s also the Italian Passion Car Pack in July, which adds the 2025 Ferrari F80, 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB4 Spider, 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm, and 1990 Alfa Romeo SE 048SP.

Stay tuned for more updates as they roll out, and check out our review for Forza Horizon 6 here. It’s available on Xbox Series X/S and PC.

This Forza Horizon 6 guide is a listing of all 15 Barn Finds, their general regional locations, and the Discover Japan Stamp unlock requirements before they will even spawn.

2005 Honda NSX-R GT

B 608

RWD

Ohtani Region

South-east of Kinkaku-ji Temple

Requires Discover Japan Yellow Stamp

1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500

C 484

RWD

Ito Region

In a clearing in the south-east of the fields

Requires Discover Japan Green Stamp

1969 Toyota 2000GT

D 377

RWD

Ito Region

Near the beach on the south-eastern coastline

Requires Discover Japan Green Stamp

1989 Nissan PAO

D 145

FWD

Minamino Region

Requires Discover Japan Blue Stamp

1971 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R

D 380

RWD

Nangan Region

Requires Discover Japan Blue Stamp

1982 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3

B 550

RWD

Ohtani Region

Requires Discover Japan Pink Stamp

1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

C 500

AWD

Shimanoyama Region

South-west of Narai-Juku

Requires Discover Japan Pink Stamp

1962 Lincoln Continental

D 267

RWD

Hokubu Region

Requires Discover Japan Pink Stamp

1998 Nissan #23 Pennzoil NISMO Skyline GT-R

S2 848

RWD

Takashiro Region

Requires Discover Japan Pink Stamp

1997 Mitsubishi Montero Evolution

D 346

AWD

Shimanoyama Region

Requires Discover Japan Orange Stamp

1997 Lamborghini Diablo SV

A 649

RWD

Ito Region

Requires Discover Japan Orange Stamp

1998 Nissan R390 (GT1)

S1 774

RWD

Ohtani Region

Requires Discover Japan Purple Stamp

2005 Mitsubishi #1 Sierra Sierra Enterprises Lancer Evolution Time Attack

R 962

AWD

Shimanoyama Region

Near Narai-Juku

Requires Discover Japan Purple Stamp

1983 Nissan #11 Tomica Skyline Turbo Super Silhouette

S2 847

RWD

Ito Region

Requires Discover Japan Gold Stamp

1991 Mazda #55 Mazda 787B

R 988

RWD

Takashiro Region

West of Hirosaki Castle/North-west of Soni Circuit

Requires Discover Japan Gold Stamp

Those are all 15 Barn Finds to be discovered in Forza Horizon 6 with their unlock requirements.

This guide is a list of potential spawn locations for Aftermarket Cars in Forza Horizon 6, denoted by a green icon of a car with the letters ‘CR’ on the map, when nearby. Any cars mentioned have a high tendency to spawn, but are not guaranteed. Colored wristband unlock requirements are also listed.

Aftermarket Car Spawn Locations

Daikoku Parking Lot

Tokyo City

• Mazda RX-3 Forza Edition

Near Tokyo Player House

Tokyo City

Tokyo Rail Sprint Road Racing

Tokyo City

Green Wristband 2,500 Horizon Festival Points

Sotoyama Ski Resort (north of Snow Forest Cross Country Circuit)

Sotoyama Region

Blue Wristband 6,000 Horizon Festival Points

• Subaru BRZ Forza Edition

North-east of Sotoyama Scramble

Sotoyama Region

Blue Wristband 6,000 Horizon Festival Points

Okuibuki Parking Lot

Sotoyama Region

Horizon Festival Kilometer Drag Meet Strip

Ohtani Region

• MX-5 Forza Edition

North-west of Kinkaku-ji Trail Dirt Racing

Ohtani Region

North-east of Shimanoyama Charge Street Racing

Shimanoyama Region

Motoki Auto Garage 

Shimanoyama Region

• Ferrari SF90 Stradale
• Jaguar XJ220S TWR

Narai-Juku Circuit

Shimanoyama Region

Shimanoyama Circuit Parking Lot

Shimanoyama Region

South of Taiyaki Scramble Dirt Racing

Shimanoyama Region

Green Wristband 2,500 Horizon Festival Points

Near Coastline Sprint

Nangan Region

Pink Wristband 10,000 Horizon Festival Points

South of Hakone Nanamagari Touge

Nangan Region

North of Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge

Nangan Region

Yuji’s Auto

Minamino Region

South-east of Airfield Trail Dirt Racing

Minamino Region

Airfield Trail Convenience Store Parking Lot

Minamino Region

Pink Wristband 10,000 Horizon Festival Points

Garage Near Yellow House

Ito Region

Sekibe Circuit

Ito Region

Among Houses On Ine Road

Ito Region

Private House Parking Lot On Ine Road (north-east of previous Aftermarket spawn)

Ito Region

Isolated House Near Flower Fields

Hokubu Region

South of Shikisai Sprint Road Racing

Hokubu Region

Blue Wristband 6,000 Horizon Festival Points

South-west of Horizon Festival Invitational Event

Hokubu Region

Hokubu Circuit

Hokubu Region

North of Waterfall Trail Dirt Racing

Takashiro Region

Blue Wristband 6,000 Horizon Festival Points

Soni Circuit Lot

Takashiro Region

Legend Island Circuit

Legend Island Region

Discover all roads on Legend Island first

Potential Aftermarket Car Spawns

• 2015 Alumi Craft Class 10
• 2018 Audi RS e-tron
• 1993 Autozam AZ-1
• 2020 BMW M8 Competition Coupé
• 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat
• 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon
• 2020 Ferrari SF90 Stradale
• 1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth
• 2018 Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5
• 2013 Ford Mustang GT
• 1997 Honda Civic Type R
• 2004 Honda Civic Type R
• 2015 Honda Civic Type R
• 2022 Honda e
• 2019 Hyundai Veloster N
• 1993 Jaguar XJ220S TWR
• 2004 Lancer VIIIMR
• 2008 Lancer XGSR
• 1997 Lotus Elise GT1
• 1973 Mazda RX-3 Forza Edition
• 1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata
• 1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata Forza Edition
• 2022 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF
• 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series
• 1997 Mitsubishi GTO
• 1989 Nissan S-Cargo
• 1997 Nissan Stagea RS Four V
• 2019 Nissan 370Z NISMO
• 1986 Porsche #186 959 Prodrive Rally Raid
• 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera
• 2004 Porsche 911 GT3
• 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS
• 1998 Nissan Silvia K’s
• 1996 Subaru SVX
• 2022 Subaru BRZ Forza Edition
• 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
• 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
• 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
• 1990 Subaru Legacy RS
• 2019 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro
• 2021 Toyota Yaris GR
• 1966 Volkswagen Beetle

Remember that you can take every Aftermarket Car for a spin with a free Test Drive for two whole minutes.

Those are all of the Aftermarket Car spawning locations in Forza Horizon 6 as well as any wristband requirements, and some of the vehicles most likely to spawn.

But what makes it so special? Amid all the critical praise – Forza Horizon 6 is currently the highest rated game of the year on Metacritic and Opencritic – it’s worth remembering that its predecessor was equally beloved. What elevates the sequel beyond just “open-world racing sim but Japan”? Let’s delve into the ten ways that it does better than Forza Horizon 5, and there’s no better place to begin with than…

Progression Actually Feels Earned

If the Horizon Festival felt more like a carnival in Forza Horizon 5 – presenting a buffet of cars, events and paths to choose from with little restriction or consequence – Forza Horizon 6 brings much-needed structure back into the equation. Instead of a renowned competitor, you stat as a tourist – a relative newcomer to Japan, who must not only qualify for the Horizon Festival but also earn the right to access faster cars. This is possible through the Wristband system, which introduces tangible goals to work toward. Yes, you’ll still be presented with an array of cars to choose from – more on that shortly – but at least there isn’t that feeling of receiving every single supercar within hours of minimal effort.

Better Structure With Wristbands

Speaking of the Wristband system, it’s more than just a means to gate your progression. It defines your place in the world – your journey in becoming a legend and accessing the appropriately named Legend Island. Beyond providing a much more tangible endgame to indulge in (including The Goliath, spanning a whopping 53.1 miles), it offers something to work toward—a persistent goal, even as you take in the sights and uncover everything magical about Japan while being rewarded for it.

Exploration and Goals

All too often, open-world games devolve into simply checking off items from a list. Go here, complete this event, clear this Speed Trap, destroy this sign, and so on. And while many of the same activities make their way to Japan, there is a more definitive purpose to discovering them, thanks to the new Collection Journal and Stamps. You’re not just happening upon a new location and raking in the XP, but also admiring landmarks, photographing the environment and adding all those little achievements into your journal. The rewards are nice and all, but that feeling of discovery feels more prominent than it did in Forza Horizon 5.

Improved Fast Travel

Of course, there’s the other side of exploration – fast travel. Whereas Forza Horizon 5 requires buying properties and then smashing all the fast travel boards to eventually make it free, Forza Horizon 6 takes a different approach. There’s no cost at all, right from the start, but fast travel is only available on previously discovered roads. So even if you’re just picking a direction and driving to nowhere, it feels like you’re doing more than just defogging the map. And if you discover any interesting content, it’s much easier to return to it later.

A Land of Contrasts

Variety is the spice of life, especially in an open-world racer where you want to offer a bit of everything. Mexico achieved that purpose pretty well, but Forza Horizon 6 raises it even further. Beyond Tokyo City, which the rest of the world revolves around, Japan offers a stunning contrast at every corner. Snow-capped mountains and rural roads quickly give way to quiet suburban neighborhoods and winding paths perfect for high-stakes Touge battles. The fact that Japan itself is a stunning contrast of the old and new, the traditional and the new-age, only feeds this further, presenting a stunning degree of variety.

The Best Urban Driving Yet

Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention Tokyo City because there’s simply been nothing like it in previous Horizon games. Even though Forza Horizon 5’s Guanajuato is fairly large, Tokyo is five times larger, presenting a diverse range of sights across its four districts and unparalleled urban exploration. One moment, you could be barreling down narrow roads to deliver food; the next, you’re participating in street races to the backdrop of neon signs. And that’s before accounting for the sheer amount of layers, lending a unique sense of verticality.

Car Meets and Cultural Exchange

Despite the many ups and downs of Forza Horizon 5’s multiplayer, you have to give it credit for trying to encourage more social play, especially with convoys and the introduction of EventLab. Forza Horizon 6 leans into the community aspect much more, courtesy of Car Meets – in-game locations like Okuibuki and Daikoku, where you can actually meet other players and show off your vehicles. It’s more than just bragging rights, though – the entire experience exposes you to new designs (which can be downloaded) and yet-to-be-discovered vehicles. Even if you’re not actually making any new friends, the indulgence in car culture is unmistakable.

The Sounds of Japan

Seeing Japan is only the first step – you also need to hear it in all its glory for the full experience. So, beyond the revamped engine audio and acoustic modelling, Forza Horizon 6 also uses field recordings from across the country, complete with different seasons. Then there’s the music, which offers a heaping helping of Japanese artists – ZUTOMAYO, Yoasobi, KANA-BOON, Ado, and the legendary Hikaru Utada, among others. All of this contributes to the ambience in different ways, and it truly feels like something special.

Customization And Player Ownership

Circling back to the whole “Discover Japan” aspect of the exploration, Forza Horizon 6 also allows you to go further beyond, letting you effectively make it your home. While Forza Horizon 5 had garages to purchase, the customisation in 6, especially with the ability to craft your own base through the Estate, is on another level, especially when inviting other players over. Customisation has also gone improved by leaps and bounds, thanks to the long-awaited addition of window liveries, on top of the hundreds of new options to personalise your vehicles.

“What’s Next” UI Page

What’s the point of all this content, especially the vast array of multiplayer modes, when the user interface doesn’t make it easy to discover? Forza Horizon 6 circumvents this with the “What’s Next” page. It’s a handy guide for those confused about the next steps to take on their journey, especially en route to becoming a Horizon Legend.

Make no mistake: Forza Horizon 5 is still one of the best racing games on the market and a remarkable open-world title in its own right. Mexico is a fantastic setting, lovingly brought to life and rendered in gorgeous detail. But with fans craving a new destination that both looks and feels like nothing else, it’s great to see Forza Horizon 6 deliver on that promise and elevate the franchise as a whole to new heights.

Compare this to Forza Horizon 5, which entered early access on November 5th, 2021, and crossed ten million players on November 19th. Its successor is likely to surpass that total within the same time frame, especially after the extremely positive word-of-mouth from players and critical reviews. The fact that it’s topped the Steam top 100 selling games chart, beating out the cheaper Subnautica 2, probably doesn’t hurt either.

All of this sets up Forza Horizon 6 to sell gangbusters when it launches on PS5 later this year. Neither XBOX nor Playground have indicated when that will be, but you would have to think September or October, if only to avoid conflicting with its other first-party titles. And it’s unlikely to want to compete with Grand Theft Auto 6 in November.

We’ll have to wait and find out. In the meantime, check out our review for Forza Horizon 6, where we gave it a nine out of ten.

EXPLORATION

Forza Horizon titles always pride themselves on their massive, well designed maps, but with Forza Horizon 6, exploration is more encouraged than ever before. In addition to gorgeous sights to take in around every corner, Forza Horizon 6’s Japan is brimming with new cars to find and add to your garage, events and races to compete in, side activities to track down, and much more. Though it might be tempting to simply go from one race to the next as you climb up the ranks of the Festival, we’d strongly suggest taking plenty of time to explore the map thoroughly.

BONUS BOARDS AND MASCOTS

A staple of the franchise, bonus boards are back in Forza Horizon 6. Though fast travel boards are no longer a thing, there are hundreds of bonus boards scattered all over the map. Each provides players with free XP, and some are rather tricky (and fun) challenges, so make sure you keep tracking down and smashing those bonus boards every chance you get.

PROPERTIES AND GARAGES

Also to be found in numbers around Forza Horizon 6’s Japan are various properties that players can purchase for themselves, similar to past entries. In addition to serving as rest spots where you can look through and over your car collection, properties also come with garages and serve as fast travel points. Meanwhile, Forza Horizon 6 also affords you the chance to customize and build up your garages and estate using a variety of building tools, so there’s more than just racing content to get into here, even though that is obviously the main draw.

COLLECTION JOURNAL

Your Collection Journal is something you’re going to want to keep your eye on as you make your way through the Horizon Festival. Split across two categories, the Collection Journal tracks your progress across various activities geared towards either making progress in the Horizon Festival, or exploring the depths of Japan. As you progress in both categories, you’ll continue to unlock a variety of rewards, so make sure to keep checking back in.

TREASURE CARS

Among the many ways Forza Horizon 6 finds to motivate players to thoroughly explore its map, treasure cars have to be some of the most enjoyable. These are rare cars hidden across the world, and after finding hints and clues about where they might be, it is up to you to sniff them out. Not only is it a consistently fun activity, the rewards it yields are also solid, so don’t miss these.

BARN FINDS

Barn finds return in Forza Horizon 6, and they work pretty much the same way they have done in the past. As you drive around Japan, you’ll unlock hints for new cars to seek out and add to your growing fleet of vehicles, with more than a dozen barn finds to be found in total. Collecting new stamps unlocks new barn finds to be found, so keep going after stamps.

AFTERMARKET CARS

If you’re looking for a cheaper way to expand your collection of cars, look no further than aftermarket cars. These will dynamically spawn all over the map, offering you chances to buy a variety of different cars – including several rare ones – at notably cheaper prices. These purchases are almost always worth it, so make sure you don’t drive past too many aftermarket cars- those might just be missed opportunities.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Forza Horizon’s digital AI assistant ANNA returns in Forza Horizon 6, and this time she comes with a rather handy new feature. If you’re looking to prioritize critical path progression so you can quickly earn wristbands and progress further in the Horizon Festival, ANNA’s new “What’s Next?” feature will be useful. It brings up a number of activities that you can tackle next, including specific, recommended ones. Of course, there’s a special charm to organic exploration and discovery, but those looking for quick recommendations will find them with this feature.

DAY TRIPS

Japan as a setting is, of course, one of Forza Horizon 6’s main selling points, and it has plenty of content on offer that highlights that. Day Trips are one such activity, and highly recommended. Essentially guided driving tours of the map’s many different regions and robust sights and vistas, Day Trips are an excellent way to soak in the abundant beauty of Forza Horizon 6’s open world Japan.

FOOD DELIVERY MISSIONS

Another new side activity introduced in Forza Horizon 6 is food delivery missions, and they’re a lot of fun- and yes, they’re exactly what they sound like. You’re tasked with driving a delivery truck (that runs like a rocket, by the way) and picking up and dropping off orders while tackling a variety of different challenges, with star ratings based on your performance at the end. Food delivery missions are almost always a blast, so we recommend doing them every chance you get.

PHOTO OPPS

Photography tends to be an important part of the Forza Horizon experience one way or another more often than not, and surprisingly, Forza Horizon 6 is no exception. Scattered throughout the map are spots where you can take gorgeous pictures of landmarks and stunning sceneries, and like everything else in the game, they add to your overall progression. For those looking to take in every inch of the map’s spectacular sights, this is a great way to do it.

TOUGE BATTLES

Touge Battles are another new racing activity that players will encounter in Forza Horizon 6, and they’re an absolute blast. Each race is a one on one affair that tasks you with navigating challenging mountain roads in speedy downhill sprints, all while behind the wheel of monstrous cars.

HORIZON LIFE EVENTS

Multiplayer content is always an important part of the Forza Horizon 6 experience, and the quick, accessible offerings of Horizon Life events are often the way to go. Horizon Life events allow players to compete against others in seamless drag races and time attack sprints, so those looking for some competition will want to keep an eye out.

CAR MEETS

There’s plenty of car meets to chance upon and join in on as you drive around in Forza Horizon 6’s Japan, and more often than not, they’re a great way to find new cars and customization options. You can purchase default versions of every car you see, as well as various customization options shared by other players, so suffice it to say that car meets are often worth checking out.

AUTO DRIVE

Exploring Forza Horizon 6’s beautiful rendition of open world Japan is easily among the game’s brightest highlights, and the auto drive feature is a great way to do that. Sure, a feature that automates driving is obviously going to be an ancillary one at best in a racing game, but it is a great way to get from point A to B if all you want to do in the interim is simply take in the scenery on the way.