Forza Horizon 6 is a little more than a month away from releasing on PC and Xbox Series X/S (with a PS5 version set to arrive later). With its May 19, 2026, release date quickly approaching, we’re getting more looks at the coming racer, with recent previews from media outlets, and new gameplay footage showcased by developer Playground Games, which, unsurprisingly, is chock-full of some truly stunning visuals.
The studio shared gameplay from the game’s prologue in a new trailer, which seemingly just shows how you’ll jump from one event to the next, similar to previous Forza Horizon entries, and get treated to some stellar jumps and racing scenarios, all part of the Horizon Festival Japan.
“Japan is such an exciting, interesting, intriguing location that many people have wanted from [the Horizon] franchise for a long time, that we’ve wanted to do for a long time,” said design director Torben Ellert in a new Xbox Wire blog post that went live alongside the new gameplay. “What would it feel like if the Festival was there? It wouldn’t dominate Japan, it would be part of Japan.”
The studio also showed off the game’s map, which shows just how much of Japan players will be able to explore in Forza Horizon 6, all the way from snowy mountain ranges to the much more compact city streets of Tokyo.
It’s also worth getting a good look at the map now, because when you load into the game yourself, you’ll have to take the time to reveal all of its corners by clearing the fog of war that’ll cover it up. It’s a system that Playground is using for the first time in a Forza Horizon game, specifically to help encourage a sense of discovery for players.
“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,” Ellert said. “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.”
Forza Horizon 6 will make its debut on Xbox Series and PC next month, and if you haven’t yet, you should check out if your PC is up to the game’s recently revealed requirements. Thankfully, it’s nothing too unreasonable, and even if your PC is starting to get on in years, you should still be able to have a great time when it arrives next month.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech’s gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry’s movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he’s done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
