I don’t think it was ever in doubt that Playground Games would create a phenomenal version of Japan for Forza Horizon 6. Playground have continually improved their own formula as the series has grown through a variety of global locations, most recently Mexico in Horizon 5.
With a relatively short marketing window for Horizon 6 since its full reveal at the Xbox Developer Direct in January, the studio has started to share more with fans of the environments and locations players will experience when the game arrives on May 19, 2026.
In 9-minutes of recent gameplay footage, Horizon 6’s Japan looks a fully realised rendition of the Pacific country including Tokyo, rapid highways and a wealth of stunning rural spaces. Now, through a new IGN First video interview with Design Direct, Torben Ellert, Playground have offered further information on the maps scale and diversity.
In the interview, Ellert confirms that Tokyo City will be the largest urban space in the history of the franchise. It will be five times bigger than Guanajuato which featured in Horizon 5’s Mexico.
So much effort has been put into Tokyo, that the team was split in two – one team making Toyko, with the other team making the rest of the map, including more rural settings. Tokyo will feature a fully-fledged dockyard and of course, an exciting downtown that will be the location for many online, neon-lit night races.
Mike Bennett, Production Director on the game adds one aspect they’re working on is the transition between biomes, making sure the shift between urban and rural environments feels natural in a scaled-down vision of Japan. Speaking of entering Tokyo: “This flow into the city here is part of how we thought about defining this Tokyo City as a set of experiences,” Before adding, “You see it in the distance, on the horizon. You approach it. You drive through suburbs and skirt around the middle of it. You move up onto the freeways and, if I was to turn left, you go down through downtown and the centre of the city.”.
Just saying the map is the largest may sound a flex, though gamers have become conscious that expanded worlds are often barren and content light. Playground have spoke to reassure fans that the world will also be densest and varied to-date. Bennett said “The headline is it’s our biggest ever, compared to Guanajuato; five times bigger than that last urban space,” and went on to say.“But also just the diversity of it compared to previous games is pretty massive as well”. Given the environmental variances seen in Horizon 3 (Australia), I’ve full faith that the studio will have advanced the diversity and density formula to a whole new level.
If you’re eager to learn more about the game’s map, the full interview is very much worth your time.
Horizon 6 will have a new progression system which further rewards discovery through the game’s world. The campaign will also be fully playable via co-operative play.
Forza Horizon 6 arrives on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, PC (Windows and Steam) on May 19, 2026. A PlayStation 5 version will arrive later this year. If you’re like me, you’ll be picking up the DLC Treasure Map immediately ready to smash through this those XP and bonus boards around this very exciting, very Japan world. On to the Festival!
What’s your thoughts on Horizon 6’s Tokyo? What other biomes are you eager to see in this scaled Japan world? 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.
