Microsoft’s Gran Turismo-fighting Forza Motorsport series of closed circuit racing games may be in peril after a wave of recent layoffs, but the open-road Forza Horizon series is set to continue with a new mainline game coming very soon. While Horizon developers Playground Games have not actually announced a release date for the sixth entry in the open world racing franchise, major details are on the way in less than two weeks.
Horizon 6 will be one of three games featured in an upcoming Xbox Developer Direct, a video package where Microsoft periodically shows off details for some of its upcoming games. According to the company’s announcement, the feature on the latest Horizon game will include a world premiere of gameplay footage from the new game. The direct also features footage from two other games, including the fantasy game Fable also being developed by Horizon studio Playground Games.
We already know that Horizon 6 will take place in Japan and will be released in 2026; however, those were the only two details confirmed in a 2025 teaser trailer. Developers have also said that the season mechanic featured in the past two Horizon games will return once again. Most other important details should come out alongside the gameplay reveal, although we can infer from past games that the focus will probably still be on exploration-based open-world driving. Everything else, hopefully including a final release date, will be announced when the reveal takes place on January 22nd at 1 p.m. EST.
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Fred Smith’s love of cars comes from his fascination with auto racing. Unfortunately, that passion led him to daily drive a high-mileage, first-year Porsche Panamera. He is still thinking about the last lap of the 2011 Indianapolis 500.