What we know about the upcoming Forza Horizon 6
Microsoft’s racing franchise took an unexpected turn when an Instagram post from the official Forza Horizon account revealed the next game’s location: Japan. The tweet‑like image, now deleted, teased the line “The Horizon Festival is heading to Japan. Coming 2026.” It slipped out just minutes before the scheduled Xbox briefing at Tokyo Game Show 2025, turning what should have been a polished launch reveal into a viral leak.
According to the brief, Forza Horizon 6 will hit Xbox consoles and PC in 2026, with a PlayStation 5 version slated for a later release. Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios are collaborating again, promising the same high‑octane mix of open‑world exploration and meticulous car physics that made the series a hit. The game will be available for wishlist on Xbox Store and Steam, and developers said more details – like the exact roster of Japanese‑inspired cars and the new festival activities – will surface early next year.
What this means for the franchise
Forza Horizon 5 arrived in 2021 and enjoyed a solid four‑year run, even expanding to PlayStation 5 in spring 2024 after a long Xbox‑first rollout. The move to Japan satisfies a top‑ranked fan poll that’s pushed the series toward Asian locales for years. Expect neon‑lit streets of Tokyo, historic shrines in Kyoto, and coastal highways on Shikoku – each region will likely bring its own weather patterns, seasonal events, and car culture.
The dual‑platform strategy hints at a growing confidence in cross‑gen compatibility. While Xbox fans will get the earliest access, the PlayStation audience won’t have to wait indefinitely; the post‑launch window is expected to be a matter of months rather than years. This mirrors the rollout strategy used for other major titles, where developers fine‑tune the game on one platform before shipping the final build to the other.
- 2026 release on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
- PlayStation 5 version arriving post‑launch.
- Open‑world map covering multiple Japanese regions.
- New festival events inspired by Japanese culture.
- Wishlist now open on Xbox Store and Steam.
With the leak already generating buzz, the official Tokyo Game Show presentation will likely dive deeper into gameplay mechanics, visual upgrades, and the soundtrack – a crucial element for any Horizon Festival. If the hype translates into pre‑order numbers, Forza Horizon 6 could become one of the biggest cross‑platform launches of the decade.