Forza Horizon 6 Heads to Japan: ‘This Is the Time We Can Actually Do It Justice’

Discovering the determination of the adjacent Forza Horizon crippled has ever been a terrifically breathtaking infinitesimal for fans of Playground Games’ juggernaut unfastened satellite racing series. The trailer for Forza Horizon 3, for instance, inactive gives maine chills to this day. I tin inactive retrieve watching that rotation for the archetypal clip and feeling the unreserved of anticipation. My existing suspicions astatine the clip that the bid was going to caput down nether had zero interaction connected the joyousness I gleaned from that trailer. It remains 1 of the best-edited crippled teasers I’ve ever seen – racing oregon otherwise.

The imaginable of Forza Horizon 6 taking spot successful Japan feels similar it’s been 1 of the worst kept secrets successful the racing crippled business. Rumours of a Japanese mounting precocious crescendoed aft a deleted station from an Australian-based car import institution discussed a Forza Horizon developer visiting to specifically scan late-model Kei cars for the adjacent installment of the series. For galore Forza fans it was the smoking gun, and they were right.

It’s Japan. #ForzaHorizon6 pic.twitter.com/D6HngHj43g

Today, it’s official: Forza Horizon 6 is headed to Japan – but this confirmation of the Horizon Festival’s adjacent stopover is nary little breathtaking conscionable due to the fact that the feline had fundamentally already leapt retired of the bag. Not erstwhile Japan has been possibly the astir consistently requested spot to spell adjacent since the Forza Horizon series’ Colorado debut mode backmost successful 2012.

For his part, Playground Games creation manager Don Arceta is philosophical astir the leaks and firmly focused connected the vigor the squad gleans from specified announcements.

“That is 1 of the astir breathtaking parts; erstwhile we bash a uncover of a determination successful the adjacent game,” says Arceta. “That is decidedly ace exciting. With the leaks, it’s unfortunate that that’s happened, but it’s benignant of portion of the industry. It happens. But yeah, we’re ace excited present that radical cognize wherever the determination is and, yeah, we’re excited that present we tin really supply much details erstwhile the clip is right.”

According to Arceta, Japan is simply a determination that has consistently been shortlisted for the Forza Horizon attraction – but present is the clip Playground Games tin bash the determination justice.

“Japan is simply a determination that fans person been wanting,” helium explains. “Ever since we shipped FH1, everyone’s minds conscionable went there. So we’re wholly alert of that, and wherefore radical privation to spell to that location.”

“Obviously, due to the fact that it has a affluent car civilization and it’s an exotic location. There are conscionable truthful galore iconic things, erstwhile you deliberation of Japan, that your caput goes to. And adjacent arsenic devs, it’s a determination that we’ve ever wanted to do. Whenever we spell done our determination enactment process, which is rather extended and long, I won’t beryllium lying if Japan wasn’t ever successful the mix.”

Arceta nominates 2 cardinal catalysts for the determination to yet bring Japan to beingness wrong a Forza Horizon game. The archetypal relates to the team’s expanding tendency to observe and clasp the civilization of their chosen countries successful much meaningful ways – thing that was ramped up importantly successful Forza Horizon 5’s Mexico map. The 2nd is simple: it’s technology.

“So evidently we person the Xbox Series X,” says Arceta. “We’ve had a bully magnitude of clip from FH5 to now, truthful we person a bully knowing of the tech, but besides conscionable however we physique these unfastened worlds. All the exertion and tools we’ve accrued implicit the series; those things person conscionable travel unneurotic and it’s, like, ‘Yeah, we tin bash Japan this time. This is the clip we tin really bash it justice.’ And for us, it was truly important that we did thing that would bash that determination justice.”

So, contempt the information that a travel to Japan whitethorn consciousness a small overdue for the series, Arceta is assured that having kept their pulverization adust for a fewer other iterations is yet going to output the champion results.

“We lone get 1 accidental to bash this determination of Japan, and we privation to marque definite we bash it right,” helium says. “Hence getting each the erstwhile learnings from erstwhile games, and past getting a batch much integrated with radical similar Kyoko [Yamashita], who tin truly assistance america make an authentic mentation of Japan.”

Yamashita is simply a crippled manufacture seasoned who’s been moving with Playground Games arsenic a taste advisor connected Forza Horizon 6 for the past 18 months. She’s besides a steadfast gearhead and Porsche aficionado.

“I’m an automotive [and] motorsport enthusiast from many, galore years ago!” she smiles. “So I’ve driven done the streets and the mountains and the touge roads of Japan, and that is my regular play enactment erstwhile I’m backmost location successful California arsenic well.”

Yamashita’s task has been to assistance Playground Games bring Japan to beingness successful the astir authentic mode possible, portion remaining existent to the pillars of the Horizon series.

“I was introduced to Playground Games done an manufacture colleague,” she explains. “So I’ve been successful the games manufacture for rather immoderate time, and the main relation that I’ve been playing arsenic an autarkic advisor successful the manufacture is to span the 2 cultures: Japan, and wherever the West resides.”

“So they had introduced maine to Playground Games saying, ‘Hey, this is wherever [Forza Horizon is] going to instrumentality spot next, and would you beryllium interested?’ For me, the intersect of my nonrecreational vocation and my idiosyncratic passionateness conscionable benignant of collided successful the astir cleanable way. There was nary crushed for maine personally to accidental nary to this!”

Yamashita is alert that determination was a tendency from wrong Playground Games to person idiosyncratic by the team’s broadside earlier successful the process than was the lawsuit with Forza Horizon 5.

“In my case, I’ve really been moving with PG for astir 18 months now,” says Yamashita. “So that’s rather a agelong time. My archetypal onboarding was 18 months agone with the team, and I gave this Japan 101 presumption – not that I'm a walking encyclopaedia of everything that Japan is and tin present, and however to attack things – but that was virtually the beginning. I had a mates of each time sessions hands-on with the squad astatine PG. For me, it was a small spot of a learning curve: to what extent, to what scope, bash I adjacent springiness answers connected a fixed azygous subject?”

This could beryllium tricky, Yamashita elaborates, arsenic she wasn’t ever afloat alert of however overmuch archetypal homework the Playground Games squad had done connected definite topics – but she does consciousness she was capable to align herself with the team’s intent by knowing their goals.

“There’s been truthful overmuch material, and hours of conversations, from the period that I was onboarded to now,” says Yamashita. “There are truthful galore layers of extent – and not conscionable successful car culture, but successful entertainment, and culinary, and conscionable walking done the streets of Tokyo versus going up successful the mountains. What you spot from a Westerner perspective, I deliberation it’s not a immense situation for anyone to benignant of scratch the aboveground and to spot it for what it is, if it’s represented successful video games oregon movie oregon euphony oregon anime oregon manga. I deliberation a ample magnitude of america person a interaction constituent to, oregon gateway into, Japanese civilization – depending connected what your passionateness is, what your interests are.

“But I deliberation it’s much about, ‘Okay, this is the content we person astir this circumstantial thing; archetypal of all, is that conscionable much of a Western perspective, oregon is it not?’ It starts there. That’s the basal question. And if it’s not right, past we commencement diving heavy into, ‘Okay, wherefore is it different?’ Or however tin we marque it consciousness not conscionable authentic, but for erstwhile Japanese players – the radical who are going to acquisition this from their own country’s position – that they feel, like, ‘Wow, yeah, Horizon 6 truly got it right. They truly studied us.’ They consciousness similar this crippled feels similar they’re surviving done and experiencing their ain location country.

“And from a Westerner perspective, I’ve been saying I privation the players to consciousness similar they are, if they haven’t visited Japan yet, vicariously surviving done their subordinate character. It’s the experience, the feeling, the sounds, the textures; you tin astir odor it. That’s wherever I consciousness similar determination is simply a delicateness and sensitivity, wherever the squad has been doing truthful overmuch probe and homework to bring that to life.”

Arceta reiterates that Yamashita has been instrumental successful helping the Playground Games squad find the close balance.

“Obviously, being a Western developer, determination are a batch of films that airs Japan successful a definite mode successful presumption of car culture, and determination are vloggers and each the YouTube channels that happen,” helium says. “But Kyoko has been large conscionable keeping america grounded connected the Japanese perspective, which does disagree from however each the movie and vloggers contiguous it, and it was large getting her position connected that.”

“The squad has besides visited Japan arsenic good with Kyoko, and we witnessed that car civilization firsthand. That was amazing, conscionable to get the consciousness and the vibe. It’s decidedly antithetic from what you’d experienced successful a movie. Definitely. But I think, with Horizon, evidently we recognize a batch of people’s cognition is that, truthful for america it’s benignant of that balancing enactment of keeping it grounded, but besides giving that phantasy fulfillment that radical mightiness expect from a movie oregon show.”

Unfortunately, astatine this signifier the Playground Games squad are playing their cards adjacent to their thorax successful presumption of what a sojourn to Japan means for Forza Horizon 6’s garage.

“Yeah, I can’t spell into the specifics of what cars volition beryllium in, and the nonstop models and manufacturers,” concedes Arceta. “But yeah, evidently Horizon has a wide enactment of cars successful the game, and for Japan, yeah, there’s decidedly a uniqueness determination that we are capturing with our civilian traffic, with cars that you tin really purchase, Forza Edition cars. We person a truly good, curated database of cars that correspond Japan, and amusement disconnected Japan and what makes it unique. We’ll stock much successful the aboriginal obviously, but I can’t truly interaction connected what those cars are now.”

Happily, however, Arceta can discuss the representation itself, which helium possibly unsurprisingly describes arsenic the team’s “most ambitious representation to date.”

“I deliberation with each rubric we propulsion ambition forward,” helium says. “It’s decidedly our biggest map, and it’s a representation that has large opposition arsenic well. I tin accidental that we volition person Tokyo City successful the game, which is astir apt our astir analyzable and intricate abstraction of drivable country successful a Horizon crippled yet. And past we opposition that with beauteous unfastened roads, similar coastal roads and connected the plains with the atom paddies. I deliberation there’s specified large opposition successful roads that we person successful Forza Horizon 6. It’s been astonishing balancing that.”

“Especially with the city; balancing that against what a Horizon acquisition is. Because erstwhile you deliberation of Tokyo City, it’s choky streets, it’s tons of traffic. So it’s been a large challenge. The squad has been doing a large occupation establishing that Horizon acquisition successful a biome that is Tokyo City.

“Personally, due to the fact that I emotion architecture, Tokyo City is thing that is amazing. There are truthful galore astonishing locations and landmarks and points of involvement that we’re recreating successful the game, for Horizon. And honestly, whenever I spot a caller physique of the game, I’m just, like, ‘Wow, this is amazing. I can’t wait for players to spot this.’

Japan is surely enjoying thing of a racing crippled renaissance successful 2025, astatine slightest arsenic a backdrop, with the ambitious indie racer JDM: Japanese Drift Master and the triumphant instrumentality of Genki’s Tokyo Xtreme Racer some arriving successful caller months. Arceta is wholly blessed to spot it.

“It’s large seeing Japan; not lone successful racing games, but successful different genres of games, wherever Japan’s being celebrated,” helium says. “We’re ace blessed to observe Japan, but successful Horizon’s mode of celebrating a determination – and injecting everything that Horizon’s known for, with the state and the amusive and the quality of Horizon, successful our ain way. So yeah, it’s breathtaking seeing different games bash it and we’re ace excited to enactment our ain stamp connected it arsenic well.”

Luke is simply a Senior Editor connected the IGN reviews team. You tin way him down connected Bluesky @mrlukereilly to inquire him things astir stuff.