Playground Games presented the first extended gameplay for Forza Horizon 6 during Xbox Developer_Direct on January 22, 2026. The studio confirmed the previously leaked launch date of May 19, 2026, and said the Premium Edition grants early access beginning May 15.
The game moves the festival to Japan. Instead of already being part of the Horizon Festival, players begin as tourists and must qualify to join the event. Qualifying leads into the festival progression loop of Showcases and a new Horizon Rush obstacle course, where earning wristbands advances a player through the ranks.
Wristband progression carries tangible unlocks. Earning the gold wristband grants access to Legend Island, which contains exclusive challenges and races. The presentation showed the festival and surrounding regions organized into distinct districts.
Tokyo is a major focus for the studio. Playground said the Tokyo region will be five times larger than anything the studio has made before and split into discrete districts. The game will include more than 550 cars at launch, with additional vehicles planned as DLC. A new way to acquire cars lets players find aftermarket vehicles parked on driveways around the world and purchase some of those rare finds.
New race types and social features were detailed. Forza Horizon 6 adds Japanese touge races that run along narrow, winding mountain passes. The Car Meets feature lets players gather at one of three locations, the Horizon Festival, The Alps at the Okuibuki parking area, or Daikoku ,to show off customized cars, download other players’ paint jobs, and buy copies of cars they like.
Housing and customization return with a larger scale. The game keeps the series’ eight player houses, which act as fast travel points and garages, and introduces the Estate. The developer described the Estate as “a flat area of land where you can build anything you want, a mountain hideaway, a personalized track for friends“. Building items costs in-game credits, and “you get the credits back if you delete something.”
Playground also confirmed platform timing. Forza Horizon 6 will launch first on Xbox Series X|S and PC, with a PlayStation 5 version arriving later in 2026. Microsoft previously said Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios are collaborating to bring the title to PS5 post-launch.
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Forza Horizon 6
Developed by Playground Games
