IGN got hands-on time with Forza Horizon 6 ahead of its May release, and the reaction is one of the more enthusiastic early impressions the series has produced in years. The reviewer played through the allotted hour of linear content and kept going well past midnight. They came back the following morning and played all day again. If the build had not had a cutoff, they say they would still be playing it. This is from someone who has put hundreds of hours into every Forza Horizon since the 2012 original.
The Map Is the Story
The Japan map is being described as a showstopper, and the preview coverage backs that up at length. There are 662 discoverable roads in the game, and some of the most interesting ones are not even marked. Mountain passes carpeted in blossom petals. Shrines tucked away up quiet forest roads. The snowline climbing gradually as you head into the Japan Alps. The reviewer describes being constantly pulled toward the next road, the next discovery.
They went in with every intention of not exploring too much before the full game arrives next month. That resolve lasted about five minutes. The world pulled them in and kept them there for hours. That sort of thing is hard to manufacture and harder to fake in a preview context.
Tokyo City Is in a Class of Its Own
Tokyo gets called out specifically in a way no previous Horizon city ever has. The density and verticality are described as unlike anything Playground Games has built before. Multi-level bridges and overpasses stacking on top of each other, tight and quaint alleyways threading through the downtown district. The reviewer says they could play entire sessions of Forza Horizon 6 without leaving the city limits, and they are clear that this is not something you could have said about any previous entry in the series.
Racing and the Festival Structure
The preview contained three race events: a cross country, a road race, and a trail race. They are described as solid and typical of the series. The reviewer does not sound compelled to replay them during limited preview time, which is an honest enough reaction given everything else competing for attention. The drift zones set on switchback mountain roads are already called among the best in the series.
The events feed into qualifying for the Horizon Invitational, which is the pathway into the Festival proper in the full game. Forza Horizon 6 is bringing back the tiered wristband structure from the 2012 original. Race marshals and festival infrastructure at race staging areas are noted as a nice touch that makes the whole operation feel run by actual people rather than a series of menus and icons.
The Starting Cars
The initial trio of cars in the preview included a Nissan Silvia, a Toyota Celica, and a GMC Jimmy. The reviewer finds the Jimmy a strange fit for a Japan setting, given that Japan has some of the most iconic off-roaders ever made. The cars shown in the preview differed from vehicles seen during a studio visit in February, so it may still be a placeholder. A Nissan Safari or Toyota FJ40 would make far more obvious sense.
Circuits, Car Parks, and the Docks
Local race circuits are scattered around the map with genuine character: worn curbs, cluttered pit areas, hastily painted safety tire bundles. Only one was active as a time attack location in the preview build, but all of them could be explored freely, including an unsealed dirt circuit and a dedicated drift track. The reviewer mentions wanting to return to all of them with friends and family when the full game arrives.
Car parks are apparently everywhere. At the racetracks, tucked away on side streets, hidden beneath overpasses. The docks area has a massive multi-story with curved ramps. The sheer density of these spaces is noted as something that will matter a lot for players who want to use Forza Horizon 6 in a more social or role-playing capacity.
Technical and What to Expect
The preview build ran in a 30fps quality mode only. Playground confirmed the 60fps performance mode will be in the full game at launch. 550 cars are confirmed for day one; the preview contained only a small slice of that list.
One final note: the Shinkansen bullet train runs through the open world and is not in a sealed-off instance. You can get hit by it. Make of that what you will.
Release Dates
Forza Horizon 6 launches on Xbox Series X|S and PC on May 19. Premium Edition and Premium Upgrade owners get Early Access from May 15. PS5 later in 2026.