Aside from being free, we don’t see a reason why you wouldn’t want to get into this one. The unique visuals and a very fun vibe underline the absurd premise of spirits having the ability to craft and inhabit clay pots. These will then partake in 4v4 battles where you try to douse your opponent’s kiln with water. You do that with basic attacks but also have access to special moves depending on your pot’s shape.

Preorders are now live, and you get a generous amount of goodies, which includes Stickers, Glazes, and Sword and Ink Lids, all of which are cool ways to make the pots you craft truly your own. Of course, there’s an in-game store with a lot more options, and Double Fine Productions has promised microstransactions locking you out of getting them.

All in all, it looks like this one’s going to be quite the entertainer if you’re in the market for something different. The trailer’s below if you want to take a look.

Kiln launches on April 23rd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

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.

This comes from leaker grunt.api on Twitter, who has unearthed details about other Halo games directly from the API. He posted a GIF of a comet alongside the text, “EA: (18 × 7 × (MMXX + VI) mod 31) + 1, OR: (8 × 7 × (MMXX + VI) mod 31) + 1.” After some math and figuring out that EA stands for “early access” and “OR” stands for “official release,” the community deduced the supposed release dates. If that wasn’t enough, the comet is probably a reference to the Fanta collaboration skin’s emblem.

Microsoft and Halo Studios haven’t confirmed any of this, much less provided a release window aside from 2026. However, it’s reportedly content complete, with the entire game, including the three new prequel missions, playable from start to finish. Polishing makes up a significant part of the home stretch, but if the July release dates are correct, then it may be even closer to done than many believed.

It’s almost a given that Halo: Campaign Evolved will turn up at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7th (which is followed immediately after by a Gears of War: E-Day Direct). Stay tuned for more updates until then, and head here to learn more about how the ODSTs and Brutes are reportedly involved.

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.

Undead Labs studio head Philip Holt touched on this in an interview with Sunny Games, and the good news is that it isn’t fixing what isn’t broken about the previous games. “So we talk about State of Decay 3 delivering on the systemic features from State of Decay 2 with a little bit more of the heart and soul of State of Decay 1. So maybe that’s a way to sort of think about how the franchise is evolving.”

Of course, the setup is different as well, with State of Decay 3 taking place “years into the future.” The de facto survivors are a “little bit more hardened” – whether that’s a good or bad thing, it will come in handy.

“The zombie menace is now presenting itself in a new way,” says Holt. “Curtains up on State of Decay 3, and your group of survivors has to really adapt to what they’re seeing in a more dangerous way. Much more dangerous way. So, yeah, the threats are real. They’re lethal, and they’re coming after you. So, that’s sort of the time setting.”

That would certainly feed into the rumored heavier narrative elements, especially if, like before, you must kill anyone who ends up infected. While alpha playtests for the title kick off next month and feature four-player co-op, base-building and combat, Undead Labs has touted a “much larger, truly shared open world” in the past.

How will that play out in the actual game? Time will tell, and there isn’t even a release date, but it’s shuffling along, not unlike the terrifyingly relentless undead. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

You may not remember it. Debuting at the Xbox Games Showcase in 2020, it showcased snow-covered environments and a lone human, who peers through the scope of their rifle to see a zombie deer. Pretty chilling stuff…except there wasn’t really any game at the time, according to Undead Labs head Philip Holt.

“So that trailer – there really wasn’t a game or game team when we were working on that trailer, like, it was so early,” he revealed in an interview with Sunny Games. “You know, the game was in a Word document. It was really the very beginnings of software.” At the time, Undead Labs had four to five people on the sequel. Shortly after the trailer, the studio confirmed that it was in early pre-production.

“The trailer was done by Blur, it was all pre-rendered, it represented, I think, a concept – our thoughts at the time of what might be cool to explore in State of Decay 3. And as we’ve had a chance to build a team and get going on the game, some of those elements I think are gonna persist in the game that we deliver, and some of those things are just, like…we’re not doing zombie animals.”

In case that wasn’t clear enough, Holt repeats it for those in the back. “No zombie deer. No zombie deer. No zombie deer.”

Thankfully, we won’t have to wait much longer to see what State of Decay 3 actually offers. Undead Labs announced alpha playtests starting in May, with sign-ups currently available. Participants can expect base-building, four-player co-op and plenty of violence. Those who don’t make the cut will have other opportunities to look forward to this year, though a release date remains pending.

Rebs Gaming has a few potential answers on how it could work. Apparently, Campaign Evolved has a skin system. There won’t be an in-game shop, as recently confirmed by community director Brian Jarrard. However, these new skins are allegedly based on the Mark 5 armor, only “reshaped and redesigned to look different.”

It seems there are “other suits” which give a “whole new twist” to Master Chief’s base armor but these may be “modified or cut before release.” Players can also reportedly expect weapon customization (to what extent remains unknown). Either way, it seems we won’t have to wait much longer for its release, as a new source told Rebs Gaming that the game is “pretty much content complete.”

This means it’s playable from start to finish (and yes, that includes the prequel missions, which allegedly involve ODSTs, Brutes, and a new Covenant faction). It seems a given that it will appear during the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7th, but he also believes that a Summer release isn’t out of the question. Previous rumors placed its launch sometime before September, so take your pick – July or August.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.