- Primary Subject: Forza Horizon 6 (Japan Setting)
- Key Update: The game officially moves to Japan, featuring a massive open-world map with Tokyo City, custom Japanese license plates, and the return of the Lexus IS-300.
- Status: Confirmed (Official Release Date: May 19, 2026)
- Last Verified: April 27, 2026
- Quick Answer: Forza Horizon 6 officially launches May 19, 2026, set in Japan. It features a denser map, authentic JDM car culture, and improved nighttime visibility for players.
Forza Horizon 6 is already jam-packed with tonnes of exciting features! But while looking at the trailer and pre-release previews, you might have missed some fun new and returning features the videos teased.
You have a sprawling map that lets you explore the vast expanse of Japan while also showing off your ride at Car Meets. But there are a few key details that might make you wish the game had been released today.
So here are five crazy details that, if you know now, you definitely can't unsee or forget.
#5 Festival Playlist is Here!
The Festival Playlist for Forza Horizon 6 appears on-screen. This probably means the Festival Playlist is back! If this Playlist works as intended, then we can explore and rave our hearts out with the best tunes in our ears!
#4 Changes in Licence Plates
Since Forza Horizon 6 is officially set in Japan, we're bound to have the Japanese white license plates. If you've watched the trailers, you'll see the same plates on our sports cars there.
But you'll also notice some of the cars also have yellow license plates and wonder if these are regular traffic vehicles. Now, here's what might be happening.
Back in December 2025, Playground Games gifted goodies to a few racing game creators, including some license plates with red lines and some with green lines. Similarly, some of these plates were standard white and also yellow. This can only mean one thing.
We can presume that Forza Horizon 6 might bring these colourful license plates. But we can only know more about it when and if Playground Games officially announces these add-ons.
#3 Changes in Nighttime Racing
Playground Games has tweaked nighttime visibility in many of its games. For example, Forza Horizon 5 had more comforting lighting during night drives, compared to FH3 and FH4's darker night cycles.
Darker nights made races more intense, where you can only rely on your car's headlights to keep you on track. However, you might notice the night seems brighter in Forza Horizon 6.
Now, some players could be against brighter nights, as it could take a chunk out of the immersive racing experience FH6 offers. However, it seems this visibility improvement may be for the broader audience.
More visibility means better chances of staying on track and completing the race.
#2 Modern Airport Racing (?)
During the FH6 Forza Horizon gameplay overview, we notice a few cars drag racing through a drag strip. But if you look closely, that might actually be an aeroplane runway.
Upon further observation, there seem to be threshold markings at the bottom of the runway, meaning it's pretty modern. So, does it mean the modern runway system from FH2 and FH3 is back?
Back in Forza Horizon 4 and FH5, we had neglected and abandoned runways and airports, which did have their charm. But a well-furnished state-of-the-art airport in the midst of festivities-induced FH6 is a breath of fresh air!
#1 Return of Specific Legendary Cars
The dedicated Forza community has always been vocal about certain official cars they wished to return in the future Horizon series.
There are various highly requested cars, one of them is the Lexus IS-300, which was first featured in Forza Motorsport in 2005, and ran its course till Forza Motorsport 4.
From the looks of it, we might actually have the Lexus IS-300 (or the Toyota Eltezza) return in Forza Horizon 6. It looks like it could be the Z version variant. All in all, a new look for an old favourite.
This concludes a few crazy details you might have missed in Forza Horizon 6, but that you definitely can't unsee now. There's more to gear up for, and it's worth the wait.
Stay tuned to racinggames.gg: the best place for Forza Horizon coverage.