Forza Horizon 6 in Japan: Can the Series do it Justice?

After ten years of traversing the world, Forza Horizon is finally heading to Japan for its sixth installment, announced during the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 broadcast.

On paper, it’s a dream pairing — the Forza Horizon series is all about freedom, chasing thrills and soaking up stunning scenery in some of the world’s most evocative locations. Japan is built for this, with winding highways, legendary mountain passes, vibrant cities, and tranquil countryside (can you just imagine driving through the countryside during cherry blossom season?). More importantly, nowhere is car culture so tightly woven into daily life.

But that’s exactly what has me worried.

A Car (And Gaming) Culture Like No Other

Japan’s car culture isn’t just important — it’s the soul of the automotive world. Cars here are more than machines; they are a part of how people express themselves every day. It’s a place where innovation, customisation, and a bit of rebellious creativity mix to turned street racing and touge runs into a cultural phenomenon.

No surprise, then, that Japan’s car scene and gaming have always moved in lockstep. Sure, Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift properly introduced the west to JDM culture, but Gran Turismo, Initial D, and Tokyo Xtreme Racer were laying the groundwork long before. These gaming icons played a pivotal role in popularising Japanese car culture globally. Especially Gran Turismo — it showcased legendary Japanese tracks like Suzuka and Fuji Speedway, and brought iconic JDM cars and customisation to a worldwide audience.

*Gran Turismo helped put iconic JDM cars like the Honda NSX on the global stage, cementing their legendary status among racing fans worldwide.*

For this reason, Forza Horizon, always felt like it was building up to a Japanese chapter.

What’s Really At Stake

Here’s where my concern kicks in: Forza Horizon hasn’t always done a great job at celebrating the local car culture in its previous destinations. Past entries — not least Australia — added a few region-exclusive cars, but never really dug into what made those place’s car cultures tick.

The series tends to just overlay the familiar festival consent onto a new map. They didn’t really unpack the how or the why of local automotive life. If Playground Games doesn’t go deep here, it’ll miss what makes Japan’s car culture truly unique. After all, this is a country of wild bosozoku builds, legendary touge racers, understated luxury, and tight-knit communities — each rich in its own rituals and pride.

*Forza Horizon 5’s JDM library has some gems. Let’s see what a game set entirely set in Japan can achieve. (Playground Games)*

There’s some ongoing intrigue around licensing, as well. Toyota, for instance, famously threatened to pull its cars from Forza Horizon 4, officially citing concerns over illegal street racing, and did exactly that with Need for Speed Heat in 2019. It isn’t just Toyota, either — Honda has often taken a strict stance at times as well. Hopefully, Horizon 6 lands the full JDM lineup that Japan’s setting deserves

Here’s hoping Playground takes the detour, digs deep, and delivers a Japanese car culture experience as vibrant and layered as the country itself. I sincerely hope they do it justice.

Forza Horizon 6 is officially set to launch in 2026 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, with a PlayStation 5 release to follow sometime after the initial launch.