Forza Horizon 6 is out. Today, May 19, it’s officially live on Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store, and available on Game Pass from day one at no extra cost.
The game is set in Japan, and if you’ve been watching the early reviews come in, the reception has been about as good as it gets. Metacritic is in “universal acclaim” territory for the Xbox Series X|S version. That
The map is the big talking point. It’s the largest Playground Games has ever built for the series. The Tokyo city section alone is reportedly five times bigger than any previous Horizon city area, and critics are calling it the most detailed drivable space the franchise has produced.
The new gameplay addition worth paying attention to is Touge battles. These are one-on-one races up winding mountain roads at night, with live traffic and no barriers. The higher the difficulty, the more genuinely tense they get. Reviewers have singled these out as the most interesting thing added to the Horizon formula in a long time.
The wider package is still recognizably Horizon. Playground haven’t reinvented anything, and if you were hoping for a dramatic overhaul of how the series works, you won’t find that here. But the Japan setting is something fans have been asking for since the series launched, and by most accounts, Playground got it right.
The Game Pass situation is worth underlining. If you’re already paying for Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass, Forza Horizon 6 is in your library right now. No additional purchase needed. For a new release of this size, that’s a genuinely good deal.
Early access opened on May 15 for Premium Edition buyers, and the game had already reached 1.4 million players before today’s wide release. Steam pre-sales alone reportedly hit 500,000 copies a month before launch. The audience was clearly ready.
A PS5 version is coming later in 2026, though no specific date has been confirmed by Microsoft.
If you have Game Pass and any interest in racing games, there’s no reason not to check it out today. If you’ve never played a Horizon game before, this is a strong entry point. And if you’re a long-time fan who’s been waiting for Japan, it sounds like the wait was worth it.
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