Forza Horizon 6 – 15 More Details You May Not Know

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Everyone knows that the Forza Horizon series is hugely popular on Xbox – the success of the previous game proves that. But Forza Horizon 6 feels different. It’s not just that it’s finally set in Japan, which fans have been asking for years. It’s a larger and more detailed game overall, and there’s a special quality to it that elevates the entire Forza Horizon experience.

The game launched on May 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Players who purchased the Premium Edition got to start playing a few days earlier, on May 15th. Here are 15 more things you should know, beginning with the most important feature…

Updates to ANNA

The upcoming Forza Horizon 6 will feature ANNA, the in-game assistant, with improved functionality. Windows Central reports that she can now not only tell you what to do next to progress in the game, but also actually drive you to your destination. The game will also include a cinematic mode that hides the on-screen display, creating a more immersive and relaxed driving experience similar to the one found in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Not Trying to be GTA

Don’t expect a bustling city filled with freely roaming people like in games such as Grand Theft Auto. Production director Mike Bennett clarified to IGN that the game isn’t aiming for that level of open-world population. Instead, the feeling of a living city comes from the presence of attendees at the Horizon Festival. While similar to spectators at races, the developers are aiming for a more understated effect to make Tokyo feel vibrant and populated without feeling overly crowded.

Fog of War

Finding everything in the game will be a real challenge, and that’s intentional! As a newcomer to Japan in Forza Horizon 6, a big part of the fun is discovering things for yourself. To help with this, the game introduces a unique “fog of war” – different from regular weather fog – that hides areas until you explore them. The developers want every new car, event, and activity to feel like a rewarding discovery.

Legend Island

Exploring the open world is a key part of the Horizon Festival, but the competition itself centers around reaching Legend Island. This area unlocks after the main game and is exclusive to the highest-ranked players. It includes a special race track called the Legend Island Circuit, along with its own Festival Outpost and unique events, as confirmed by design director Torben Ellert in a recent community Q&A.

The Colossus Returns

The Colossus is back, and it’s bigger than ever! If you played Forza Horizon 5, you’ll remember it as a long endurance race. In Forza Horizon 6, it now covers the entire freeway system – a full 50 miles (80 kilometers). This makes it the longest Colossus race yet, and the perfect opportunity to push your new R-class cars and driving skills to their limits.

Chaser Zero

Horizon Rush offers a new way to experience the exciting Showcase Events fans love, but the original events aren’t going anywhere. In fact, there will be two of them, acting as key challenges to unlock progress in the Festival, culminating in a huge battle against a massive robot named Chaser Zero. You might have seen a glimpse of this robot in the game’s reveal trailer. While Playground Games hasn’t shared many details yet, if these events are similar to past games, it promises to be an incredible spectacle.

Horizon Online Play

Horizon Play is now available, offering six different ways to compete with others online. You can choose from modes like Eliminator, Hide and Seek, Horizon Drift, and Horizon Racing. There’s also Touge Showdown, where you can race head-to-head on five mountain roads, and an online championship where you’ll race each of those roads individually. A new mode called Spec Racing lets everyone race in the same car on familiar road and dirt tracks, ensuring a fair competition. And just like Touge, there’s a Spec Racing Championship too.

Barn Finds and Treasure Cars

Barn Finds are returning, and just like before, you’ll discover them by following leads. This time, you earn these leads by collecting Stamps for your Collection Journal. There are also special Treasure Cars – iconic vehicles like the 1969 Dodge Charger R/T and the 1991 Nissan Figaro – that are hidden and waiting to be found. Unlike regular Barn Finds, you won’t find these with rumors or Stamps; you’ll need to explore the world using only a photograph as a clue. Once you find them, it’s up to you whether to restore them to their former glory or drive them as they are.

Forza Edition Cars and “Extreme” Modifications

Forza Edition cars are back, and they’re still some of the most valuable cars to collect. However, there’s a new twist: these cars now have unique, extreme modifications you won’t find on any other vehicle. This includes customized versions of popular cars like the 2010 Lexus LFA and the 1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata. You won’t be able to buy these directly from a dealership, though. Some will appear as modified cars you find while driving, and others will only be available through the luck of the Wheel Spin feature.

The Larger Number of Music Tracks

If you’ve played any of the Forza Horizon games, you know how important the music is, and Forza Horizon 6 delivers. It features nine radio stations, which nicely matches the game’s nine different environments. You’ll find all the familiar stations like Horizon Pulse, Bass Arena, and XS, with a fantastic lineup of artists including BABYMETAL, ONE OK ROCK, ZUTOMAYO, Ado, and even Hikaru Utada. Plus, there’s a ton of other great music from artists like Linkin Park, Rise Against, Yung Bae, and Tame Impala. This is the biggest soundtrack in any Horizon game so far, and we’re excited to explore it all while driving!

Festival Playlist Cars Available Sooner

We all enjoy the weekly Festival Playlist challenges, but it used to be frustrating that you couldn’t earn the cars offered once a Playlist was over—especially for new players. Forza Horizon 5 later fixed this by adding those cars to the Horizon Backstage shop, and now Playground Games is making a similar change for Forza Horizon 6. They’ve confirmed that some cars from past Playlists will become available again, sometimes even as Aftermarket cars. We don’t know exactly how you’ll get them yet, but it’s a big improvement over having to wait for the same Playlist to reappear.

PC Requirements

Let’s be realistic: to run Forza Horizon 6 at its highest settings – 4K resolution, 60+ frames per second, with ray tracing and advanced lighting effects – you’ll need a powerful PC. Specifically, you’re looking at a Core i7-12700K or Ryzen 7 7700X processor, 32GB of RAM, an RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT graphics card, and a fast NVMe SSD. You’ll also need to use upscaling technology to achieve this. However, the game is much more forgiving with lower settings. You can play at 1080p resolution with 60 FPS on the Low preset using a Core i5-8400, 16GB of RAM, a GTX 1650, Radeon RX 6500 XT, or Arc A380, along with a standard SSD. For a smooth 60+ FPS experience at 1440p on High settings, we recommend an Intel Core i5-12400F, 32GB of RAM, an SSD, and an RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6700 XT, or Arc A580. If you want the highest visual quality without ray tracing – native 4K resolution – you’ll need a powerful CPU similar to the top-end setup, an NVMe SSD, and either an RTX 4070 Ti or Radeon RX 7900 XT, along with 24GB of RAM.

Benchmark, Real-Time Memory Usage, and More

Beyond features like ray tracing and upscaling technologies (DLSS 4, FSR 3 & 4, and XeSS 2.1), plus support for high frame rates and ultrawide monitors, the PC version of the game has received a lot of helpful refinements. You can now instantly see how changes to graphics settings will look and adjust them on the fly, without needing to restart the game. A built-in benchmark tool is also available to measure performance, and you can monitor how much video and system memory the game is using. Plus, you can carry your progress across all platforms, including the upcoming PlayStation 5 version.

Console Performance Modes

If you’re playing on Xbox Series X or S, you’ll be able to choose between two graphics modes: Quality and Performance. Quality mode delivers a sharper, more detailed picture in native 4K resolution at 30 frames per second. Performance mode aims for a smoother experience with up to 60 frames per second on the Series X, dynamically adjusting the resolution to maintain that speed. On the Series S, you can expect 1440p at 30 FPS or 1080p at 60 FPS, with the game adjusting the resolution as needed to keep things running smoothly. We hope you enjoy it!

Post-Launch Expansions

The fun doesn’t stop with the initial game! Even with all the free updates and the Car Pass – which adds 30 new cars delivered weekly – there’s more to come. Just like the previous game, two big expansions will be released after launch, each offering a new location, new cars, and exciting new ways to play. While details about these expansions are still secret, for now, get ready to experience what could be the best racing game for a long time!

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2026-05-14 17:43