Forza Horizon 6 launched on May 19, 2026 and immediately became the highest-rated multiplatform game of the year, carrying a 91 Metacritic on Xbox Series X and 90 on PC, with a 100% recommendation rate on OpenCritic (Metacritic, 2026). It reached 6 million players within two days.
The short version: Playground Games moved the series to Japan, built its largest map yet, and shipped over 550 cars on day one. It is the best Forza Horizon has been, and it is also the least surprising game in the series. Both of those things are true at once.
Note
Key Takeaways
- 91 on Metacritic (Xbox), 90 on PC, 100% OpenCritic recommendation, with IGN awarding a 10/10.
- Japan is the franchise's largest map, with a Tokyo hub described as five times larger than any previous urban area.
- 550+ cars at launch — a franchise record — plus ray-traced global illumination and refraction-based headlight shaders.
- Hit 6 million players by May 21 and a franchise-record 172,093 concurrent Steam players.
- The consistent criticism is structural conservatism: the story is shallow and progression does not experiment.
Is Forza Horizon 6 Worth Playing?
Yes, and it is the easiest recommendation in the series. Reviewers converged on the Japan setting as the strongest map Playground has built, with VGC calling it "an essential racing game" and multiple outlets rating it 9/10 or higher.
The reception numbers are unusually clean. A 100% recommendation rate on OpenCritic means no reviewed outlet advised against it — rare for any release, and rarer for the sixth entry in an annualised-adjacent franchise.
Forza Horizon 6
Game Rating: 91/100 (Metacritic)
Developer: Playground Games
For context on where that sits in 2026: it is the year's highest-rated multiplatform release, but not the year's highest-rated game outright. That title belongs to Mina the Hollower at 93 — a considerably smaller production.
How Good Is the Japan Map?
It is the franchise's largest, and the consensus among reviewers is that it is also the best — with several outlets arguing it displaces Forza Horizon 4's Britain as the series high point.
The reason is variety within coherence. Japan gives Playground mountain passes, dense neon urbanism, rural farmland and coastline inside a single believable country — something Mexico and Britain each only partly offered.
Tokyo Is Actually a City
The urban hub is five times larger than the urban areas in previous Horizon games. Past entries gestured at cities; this one commits to one.
Passes Built for Drifting
The mountain roads exist because the physics changed. Touge-style descending routes are the map's signature, and they are designed around the new handling model.
Seasons Suit the Setting
Horizon's rotating seasons have never had a better host country. Cherry blossom and snow-covered passes are not decoration; they change grip and sightlines.
Has the Driving Changed?
Yes — the physics were revised with a specific emphasis on drift and street racing, which is the single most consequential mechanical change in the game.
This is not a physics overhaul in the simulation sense. Horizon remains firmly arcade, and anyone arriving from a sim expecting Forza Motorsport's handling model will find the same forgiving, momentum-friendly driving the series has always had. What changed is that sustained slides are now a first-class way to play rather than a minigame.
Why the setting and the physics are the same decision: You cannot build a Japan map and then ship handling that punishes drifting. Playground clearly worked backwards from the country's car culture — touge runs, street racing, tuning — and the driving model follows from that. It is the most coherent alignment of setting and mechanics the series has managed.
How Many Cars Are There?
Over 550 at launch, a franchise record and a meaningful jump over previous entries' day-one rosters. All are customisable.
The number matters less than the curation. A Japan-set Horizon has an obvious obligation to its host country's manufacturers, and the roster leans into it without abandoning the European and American metal the series is built on.
| # | Feature | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cars at launch | 550+, a franchise record |
| 2 | Map size | Largest in the series |
| 3 | Tokyo hub | ~5x larger than prior urban areas |
| 4 | Lighting | Ray-traced global illumination |
| 5 | Headlights | Refraction-based shaders |
| 6 | Progression | Returning wristband system |
| 7 | Physics focus | Drift and street racing |
How Does It Look and Run?
The technical headline is ray-traced global illumination, alongside refraction-based headlight shaders — the latter being a small feature with an outsized effect in a game with this much night driving through wet neon streets.
Playground built this on ForzaTech, the same engine now underpinning their Fable project — which says something about how well the technology streams large outdoor worlds.
PC players should budget accordingly. Ray-traced GI at 4K is genuinely demanding, and our 4K gaming PC build guide covers what that costs in 2026. If frames feel inconsistent despite a healthy average, the issue is usually frame pacing rather than raw throughput — see what 1% lows actually measure.
What Is Wrong With It?
Two things, and they are the same thing viewed from different angles: the story is shallow, and the structure does not experiment.
Critics who withheld top marks — Gamereactor UK among them — pointed at a progression system and game structure that decline to take risks. The wristband progression system returns from earlier entries rather than being rethought, and the narrative framing around the Horizon Festival remains the thinnest part of the package.
It Is Horizon 5 in Japan
That is a compliment and a criticism. If the formula stopped working for you two games ago, a better map will not fix it.
The Story Is Set Dressing
Nobody plays Horizon for narrative, but "shallow" was a consistent enough note across reviews to state plainly rather than wave away.
Progression Is Familiar
The wristband system is a return, not an evolution. Players hoping for structural reinvention did not get it.
How Well Did It Sell?
Extremely well. Pre-orders exceeded 500,000 copies on Steam alone, roughly $30 million in revenue before launch. Early access peaked at 172,093 concurrent Steam players, a franchise record that placed it among Steam's top 52 all-time peaks.
By May 21 — two days after launch — the game had 6 million players. That figure includes Game Pass, so it is a reach number rather than a sales number, but the concurrency record is not.
Full Spec Sheet
| # | Feature | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Game Title | Forza Horizon 6 |
| 2 | Developer | Playground Games, with Turn 10 Studios |
| 3 | Publisher | Xbox Game Studios |
| 4 | Release Date | May 19, 2026 (Premium edition May 15) |
| 5 | Platforms | PC, Xbox Series X|S; PS5 later in 2026 |
| 6 | Setting | A stylised Japan, with Tokyo as the hub |
| 7 | Metacritic | 91 (Xbox Series X), 90 (PC) |
| 8 | OpenCritic | 100% recommendation |
| 9 | Notable Score | IGN 10/10 |
| 10 | Cars | 550+ at launch |
| 11 | Peak Steam CCU | 172,093 |
| 12 | Players by May 21 | 6 million |
| 13 | Genre | Open-world arcade racing |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Forza Horizon 6 good?
Yes. It holds a 91 Metacritic on Xbox Series X and 90 on PC, with a 100% recommendation rate on OpenCritic and a 10/10 from IGN. Reviewers broadly agree that the Japan map is the best in the series and that the drift-focused physics revisions suit it. The criticisms centre on a shallow story and unadventurous progression rather than on how it plays.
Is Forza Horizon 6 on PS5?
A PlayStation 5 version was confirmed for later in 2026, after the May 19 launch on PC and Xbox Series X|S. This continues Xbox's multiplatform approach — Forza Horizon 5 also came to PS5 after an initial Xbox and PC window. No specific PS5 date had been announced as of July 2026.
How many cars are in Forza Horizon 6?
Over 550 at launch, a franchise record and the largest day-one roster in Horizon history. All are customisable. The roster leans into Japanese manufacturers to suit the setting, while retaining the European and American selection the series is known for.
Is Forza Horizon 6 on Game Pass?
Yes, it launched into Xbox Game Pass. This is part of why the game reached 6 million players within two days of release — that figure counts subscribers as well as buyers, so it reflects reach rather than units sold. The Steam concurrency record of 172,093 is a separate, purchase-driven measure.
Should I buy Forza Horizon 6 if I own Forza Horizon 5?
Yes, if you still enjoy the formula. Japan is a genuine upgrade over Mexico in variety and density, the drift physics are a real mechanical change, and 550 cars is a substantial roster. No, if Horizon 5 had already worn thin — the progression and structure are deliberately familiar, and a better map does not address that.
The Verdict
Forza Horizon 6 is the best game in the series and the safest one. Japan is a superb host country, the physics revisions genuinely serve the setting rather than decorating it, and 550 cars across the largest map Playground has built is an enormous amount of game for the money.
What it does not do is surprise you. The wristband progression returns unchanged, the festival narrative remains thin, and anyone who wanted the series to take a structural risk will find that Playground spent its ambition entirely on the map. Given how good that map is, this is a defensible trade — but it is a trade.
Buy it if you play racing games. Skip it only if Horizon specifically stopped working for you before now.
If you want something with more design ambition and less scale, Mina the Hollower is 2026's actual highest-rated release. For a different kind of vehicular sim entirely, see Assetto Corsa EVO, and if you are shopping for hardware to run this at 4K, start with our best budget GPU guide.
Screenshots and key art courtesy of Xbox Game Studios and Playground Games, used for editorial coverage. Forza Horizon is a trademark of its respective owners.
Sources
- Metacritic, Forza Horizon 6 reviews, retrieved 2026-07-27, https://www.metacritic.com/game/forza-horizon-6/
- Wikipedia, Forza Horizon 6, retrieved 2026-07-27, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forza_Horizon_6
- VGC, Forza Horizon 6 review: Playground Games outdoes itself with an essential racing game, retrieved 2026-07-27, https://www.videogameschronicle.com/review/forza-horizon-6/
- Wccftech, Forza Horizon 6 Review: Japan Setting Dethrones Britain as the Series' Best Map, retrieved 2026-07-27, https://wccftech.com/review/forza-horizon-6-review-first-love/
- Tech4Gamers, Forza Horizon 6 Review Roundup, retrieved 2026-07-27, https://tech4gamers.com/forza-horizon-6-review-roundup/
- The Shortcut, Forza Horizon 6 review roundup, retrieved 2026-07-27, https://www.theshortcut.com/p/forza-horizon-6-review-roundup
