One of the best looking racing games ever

There may be some disappointed by it Forza Horizon 6 doesn't stray too far from the franchise's proven formula, but I'm a firm believer that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. After an exciting and explosive introductory race typical of the series, Forza Horizon 6 lets players let go of Japan in the open world, from the brightly lit streets of Tokyo to the gorgeous countryside to dangerous mountain peaks. Forza Horizon 6s map is huge, but dense, and is absolutely overflowing with worthwhile things to do. There is something fun to do around almost every corner.

Forza Horizon 6 is full of valuable content

Most Forza Horizon 6 players will likely occupy themselves with Horizon Festival events that split up parts of the map for more traditional racing events, all of which are great fun to do, but there are also jumps, speed traps and drifting challenges to complete. Completing these lower level events earns you points that unlock new bracelets, which in turn gives players access to even more events and challenges. Beating enough of these will also grant players access to the over-the-top Showcase events, which even include a race against a Gundam-style mech this time.

The hours will fly by as you make your way through Forza Horizon 6the core content, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. When players aren't actively competing in Horizon Festival events, they'll be searching for hidden treasure cars and barn finds, competing in multiplayer races, and joining stunt parties that challenge players to work together to collect as many points as possible. There is so much to do in the game that it can be almost overwhelming at times, but it's all worth it thanks to the constant stream of rewards.

Forza Horizon 6 has over 600 cars to collect (including loyalty reward vehicles you get from playing previous entries), with players able to buy them directly using in-game currency or win them from wheel spins and reaching certain thresholds in the various challenges. There are also tons of customization options to unlock, from specialized horns (including the shutdown sound for Windows XP) to avatar clothing.

The reward is the carrot on a stick which makes it extra hard to put Forza Horizon 6 down, but even if they weren't a factor, the simple joy of driving around the open world of Japan, doing ridiculously high combos and smashing into every breakable object in sight is enough to keep you glued to the controls for hours on end. Even after I had my fill of all the organized racing events, I still found myself booting up the game to drive around and take in the sights.

As the first game in the series built from the ground up specifically with Xbox Series X/S hardware in mind, Forza Horizon 6 is nothing short of amazing. From little things like realistic puddle reflections to watching the sun rise behind a snowy mountain to the game's impressive suite of weather effects, Forza Horizon 6 is one of the best looking racing games on the market. The cars look incredible, the world looks amazing, and even at the highest speeds and maximum destruction, it never misses a beat. I experienced zero performance hiccups, even when blasting through a full-blown forest, knocking down dozens of trees in seconds at nearly 200 mph. Like its predecessors, Forza Horizon 6 is a technological marvel.

Forza Horizon 6 is not Quite Perfect

However, that doesn't mean it's completely free of any rough edges. Forza Horizon 6 has some notable glitches that I experienced during my time with the game, like an issue where the Skill Song logo wouldn't leave the screen even long after it finished, blocking important information and forcing a reset. And then there were a couple of story missions where I successfully completed the objectives, and the game recognized it and gave me credit, but still, the missions didn't complete properly. This annoying issue popped up several times in my quest to quit Forza Horizon 6s story quest, but thankfully the handy rewind feature kept it from being too frustrating.

Forza Horizon 6s story missions are the pack's weak point overall. In addition to completion, Forza Horizon 6s story missions are boring compared to the Horizon Festival content. They consist of stakeless driving missions where players have to do things like take a photo of a certain car in a specific location or follow their friends around to take in the sights. The characters are all generic with zero depth, and the stories themselves are rarely particularly interesting. It's the only content in the game that feels like a chore to check things off a list as opposed to something you actually want to do because it's fun.

Forza Horizon 6 also lacks the one major defining new feature that helps set it apart from its predecessors, so some longtime fans of the series may feel like the game is “more of the same.” As I said before, I'm convinced that a successful formula doesn't need a lot of tinkering, but it's still a bit sad that there isn't a major new feature to tap into Forza Horizon 6 to the next level. The new Horizon Rush events are obstacle courses that are fun enough but don't feel that different from regular racing events, and things like Estate customization, while appreciated, won't hold most players' attention for long.

Forza Horizon 6 is more of the same, but when the “same” is some of the best open world racing ever produced, it's hard to be mad at it. Racing game fans will easily lose dozens if not hundreds of hours exploring Forza Horizon 6Japan's open world and compete in its many campaign and multiplayer events, and while what's here at launch makes the game worth the price of entry on its own, chances are there will be fantastic post-launch support that makes the game even better. Simply put, Forza Horizon 6 is a safe investment for racing game enthusiasts and even those who don't usually like the genre.

Released

May 19, 2026

ESRB

All / Mild texts, users interact, in-game purchases

Publisher

Xbox Game Studios

Pros and cons

• Beautiful, massive open world that is a joy to explore
• Full of challenging and exciting racing events and other challenges
• Tons of valuable content to unlock

• The story content is disappointing compared to the rest of the package

Forza Horizon 6 launches May 19 for PC and Xbox Series X/S. A PlayStation 5 version is also in development. Game Rant was provided with an Xbox Series X/S code for this review.