I’m obsessed with Forza Horizon 6, and I’ve barely even raced

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FollowSee All Games ReviewI’m obsessed with Forza Horizon 6, and I’ve barely even racedThe latest open-world racer is a stunning virtual road trip through Japan, and it’s perfect for explorers. by Andrew Webster Andrew WebsterSenior entertainment editorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Andrew WebsterMay 14, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC Image: Microsoft Andrew Webster Andrew WebsterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Technical Details

FollowSee All by Andrew Webster is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories. For the last week, I’ve spent every evening unwinding by speeding through the Japanese countryside, blaring Babymetal as I take in the sights.

Forza Horizon 6 is ostensibly a racing game, one in which you play an up-and-coming driver intent on making a name for themselves. But, like the rest of the series, it’s also an open world, one in which you can spend as much — or, in my case, substantially more — time exploring as you do racing. And it’s that element that’s substantially improved in Horizon 6.

It’s a combination of structure and setting: The fictional take on Japan isn’t just the largest map in a Horizon game, but it’s also incredibly diverse, and the game lets you approach it however you like. Horizon 6 spans from the glowing streets of Tokyo to icy roads at the base of Mount Fuji, and I’m not going to stop until I’ve driven down every last one of them. The stated goal in Horizon 6, as with its predecessors, is to move upward through the ranks at the Horizon Festival, a connected series of driving events spread across a single geographical area, in this case the whole of Japan.

Industry Implications

This can include everything from drag races to dirt tracks to performing stunts off of ramps placed precariously on the edge of a cliff. As you compete, you earn points, which will nab you wristbands that in turn open up more events where you can earn even more points. It’s a relatively open-ended structure, allowing you to mostly focus on the competitions you enjoy or are good at and avoid the rest.

Or, if you’re like me, mostly avoid all of them. Image: MicrosoftBased on the way I play Horizon 6, all of the races and progression are a means to an end, and that end is driving cool cars all around Japan. And you really don’t have to spend all that much time competing in Horizon Festival events to do that.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.