Welp, in case the Mt Fuji framed by cherry blossoms hasn’t clued you in, Forza Horizon 6 will take place in Japan. It’s a location fans of the franchise have been demanding for years and now it’s finally happening. The open-world format that’s a hallmark of the Forza Horizon series seems like it will offer a lot of potential to delve into Japan’s diverse car culture.
The teaser trailer revealed at the Tokyo Game Show unfortunately does not show any cars, driving locations, or gameplay. It references past Forza Horizon locations like Colorado, Europe, Australia, the UK, and Mexico. In an interview with IGN, the creators said that their Tokyo map will the most advanced the developers have ever created in the series.
Interestingly, they say it was the creation of Forza Horizon 5‘s Hot Wheels DLC that helped make Tokyo possible. Its elevated and overlapping tracks laid the groundwork for the Shuto. Rural and mountain areas, including Mt Fuji, will be part of the setting as well, which should result in some beautiful backdrops when the in-game seasonal changes take effect.
Fans were tipped off to the Japan location last month when an Australian car import posted that Forza staff has come to their shop to 3D-scan kei cars. In the IGN report, it states that the breadth of Japan’s car culture will featured in the game. “Kei cars and vans with cult followings, precision motorsport, drifting’s roots, and their passion for customization really stands out,” cultural consultant Kyoko Yamashita said.
Forza Horizon 6 will launch initially on Xbox and PC, but a PlayStation 5 port will follow. It will be released sometime in 2026.
I’m so bloody hyped.
I’ve been waiting for Horizon to go to Japan since Horizon 4 released in 2018. I can’t wait. Will definitely be pre-ordering when it hits online storefronts. I really just hope Horizon nails this one. There’s a pretty simple list of things they HAVE to get right:
– Tokyo City (which has been confirmed for the game already)
– The Touge(s? I’m hoping for multiple. One tight, like Irohazaka or Shomaru, a “normal” one adjacent to somewhere like Haruna or Motegi, and a wide, long one, like the Hakone Turnpike. I REALLY hope they don’t just end up doing one, because it’ll leave a void for those who look forward to the others.)
– The Highways (Horizon always has one big, straight highway going from one end of the map to the other, which they can do again this time, but if they ONLY have that, it’ll be a HUGE disrespect to the Wangan fans.)
There are also a couple of other things I’m hoping they’ll include. For instance,
– Some form of an Industrial Area or Port. (I HEAR they could use these for drag racing. And, if laid out right, it could double as a drift zone.)
– A twisty gravel course on the mountain. (I mean, they have to include rally in SOME form – why not take inspiration from the courses the real All Japan Rally Championship, and the stages they run on?
– (HARD MAYBE) Some sort of circuit? Japan has a bunch of iconic circuits. Fuji, Suzuka, Motegi, Ebisu, Tsukuba, SUGO, the list goes on and on. I know Motorsport is really the place for this, but I don’t necessarily think it’d be unwelcome in Horizon. I could be wrong, though.
Either way, I’m looking forward to Forza Horizon 6. I really hope they get this right, because if they don’t, they will NEVER be able to forget it.
I hope my younger self is happy. We’ve finally made it.
I haven’t bought any of the current gen consoles and I wasn’t really planning to. This might be the game that changes that.
I’ve only played Forza Motorsport 4 on xbox 360. I loved Fujimi Kaido and always wondered why Forza had a nice touge inspired track like that but Gran Turismo didn’t have something comparable (that I remember, and I’ve played most of them since GT2).
So yeah, I think this is probably going to be a must buy. I’ll probably wait for the PS5 version though…or finally make a foray into PC gaming.
Interesting. I’ve played the demos of some of the previous versions, and while I enjoyed them, couldn’t bring myself to pay the eye-watering price of admission. I might make an exception for this one… at least once I build my next PC!
I’m cautiously optimistic…
Based on the previous maps, my guess is it will include a scaled-down central core of Tokyo, a portion of the Wangan, and probably some of Kanagawa, Hakone, Chiba, and Ibaraki. They’ve got the new Tokyo Xtreme Racer to go up against in terms of expressways and I can’t see them trying to match that; I think it’ll be more of a “best of”.
I think if they try and replicate a large portion of the country, too much will get left out and watered down. Knowing how complex it’ll be even modeling a portion of Tokyo I can’t see them including any other large cities. Assuming Hakone will be in the game, I could see them maybe including a nearby smaller city like Odawara.
Aside from the standard R34s and Supras, Forza has never been great with Japanese car culture. I’m hoping if nothing else they’ll focus a bit more on customization and add some more Japan-specific aftermarket parts.Giving the player more control over wheel size, wheel and tire width (separately), ride height, and camber would go a long way too.
My big wish is that the roads won’t all be highway-width like all of the previous games. Nothing kills the sensation of speed like a 50′ wide mountain road.