It’s only a few months now till we’re back at the Horizon Festival, for the first time ever in Asia. Forza Horizon 6 takes us to the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan, including its lush countryside, stunning Mount Fuji and the tense neon racing streets of the former most populated city on earth, Tokyo.
In a new blog post, more details have been shared about the campaign mode in Horizon 6 including full co-operative support, enhanced progression systems and the ability to collect Stamps whilst discovering Japan.
Mei – a Japanese car builder, and Jordy – a motorsport enthusiast, will guide us around the world. If you’ve played any other Horizon title, you’ll be familiar with the fun, off-beat characters encouraging you to explore, race and smash XP boards during your adventures.
Wristbands and Festival Races
To make it to the Festival, we will need to earn the game’s first Wristband, awarded for completing the Horizon Qualifiers and Invitation. There are 7 Wristbands to collect in the game, by completing races, PR stunts and more Horizon content series fans will be familiar with, you will unlock another Wristband and gain access to more of what the game has to offer. You will not be able to use the games rapid hyper cars until you unlock the coveted late-game Purple Wristband.
Showcase and Horizon Rush Events
Perhaps the greatest part of Forza Horizon has always been its Showcase Events. We’ve raced against trains, fighter jets and even Halo’s Pelican, but the Showcase Events will always bring a smile to players faces. Big energy, big action and big rewards for winning races against other vehicles will return. ‘Chaser Zero’ is the name of the Gundam-like mech we were teased when the game was fully revealed at the 2026 Xbox Developer Direct last month.
Tokyo City Docks, the Sotoyama Ski Resort and Irokawa Space Center are included as Horizon Rush event locations. By completing a Showcase or Rush Event, you will earn your next Wristband.
Legend Island
By unlocking all 7 Wristbands, players will be granted access to the coveted, Legend Island, home of the Legend Island Circuit. The Circuit will feature the series longest ever Goliath race, ‘The Colossus’. The Goliath events have previously been 8-10 races around the series maps, featuring breakneck speeds and a gallon of excitement.
Race Customizer
Horizon veterans will be familiar with the ability to play unique variations of Festival races, and that returns with Horizon 6. By completing a race, players will be able to toggle many variants including Drivatar numbers (fellow racers who have their race style modelled on your friends), weather, time of day, traffic and much more.
Convoys and Co-Op
Convoys return in Horizon as the way to club together with friends and fellow racers to explore Japan together. In a Convoy, players can adventure the lush world, car cruising and smashing bonus boards. The Convoy leader will lead all members into race events, enabling the seamless integrated co-op experience that Horizon players love.
Discover Japan
Horizon’s progression has traditionally been more focused on racing your way through to be the Festival champion. Though Horizon is equally about the adventure as much as the racing, and Horizon 6 will reward players in a new way for discovery.
Inspired by the Japanese tradition of stamp collection, players will be awarded Stamps for playing the ever wonderful Horizon Stories, taking stunning photos and even delivering food (that’s new!).
Collecting Stamps will unlock more houses for players to buy – which now feature customisable garages as demoed in the game’s reveal – new Barn Find rumours, as well as The Estate, ‘a mountain valley where you can build and decorate directly in the open world’.
Cross-Save and Progression
All your progress will be saved in your Journal, which will track your progress across both sides of the game – Horizon Festival and Discover Japan. There’s always been something more to unlock in Horizon, and your Journal will be way to identify that next shiny car, race helmet or other progression item.
Forza Horizon 6 features full cross-save and cross-progression across Xbox Series, Xbox PC and Steam at launch. When the game arrives on PlayStation 5 later in 2026, you will be able to continue your Horizon adventure there too.
The full blog post can be read here.
There’s so much to look forward to in Horizon 6, and I truly cannot wait to see the Japan Playground have created. Forza Horizon 6 arrives on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass and PC on May 19. Premium Edition / Premium Upgrade players will get 4 day early access on May 15. It arrives on PlayStation 5 later this year at a TBA date, following the incredible success of Horizon 5 on PS5.
What’s your favourite Horizon to date? Are you new to the series via PlayStation, or an Xbox / PC veteran? Let us know in the comments below or join the friendly and active Gamer Social Club Discord to chat about all your favourite racing games.
