Car culture in Forza Horizon 6 isn't just about how your car looks or the way you drive it. At the Horizon Festival, it's also about the experiences that you share in those cars with your friends and the wider community.
For example, if you've customized your favorite car with a unique widebody kit and an eye-catching livery that you're excited to show off to others, you'll be able to do that in ways you've never been able to before thanks to the new social features in Forza Horizon 6.
We'll start with a closer look at car customization and the options we've added to make building your dream car a reality. Then we'll have a look at the shared social spaces where you can display it for everyone to see and flex its automotive prowess.
This is how Forza Horizon 6 creates a Festival of car culture. Let's jump in.
Forza Horizon 6 will launch with over 550 cars, with more cars added post-release. Those cars will feature updated Forza Aero, which is now individually set up per car rather than having the same front and rear aero with no ad hoc adjustments, as well as enhanced steering animations with up to 540 degrees of wheel rotation, and we've also introduced additional body kits for new-to-Horizon vehicles. Some of the aftermarket brands featured in Forza Horizon 6 include Liberty Walk, Rocket Bunny, and Origin Lab.
In the Livery Editor, one significant improvement we've made is the very much requested ability to paint liveries on windows. To complement this, we've included more pre-made vinyls that feature in-world branding compared to Forza Horizon 5, such as PI Class logos and Wristband icons. These are great for sticking in windows or giving a base to build your livery on. Additional decals can also be unlocked as rewards in the Collection Journal.
For painting your car, we’ve streamlined the navigation for selecting colors and color types – for example, when you choose a color, you can easily switch between gloss, semi-gloss, matte, and metallic finishes. You can also mark colors and materials as favorites for quick access, such as the new metal flake and candy paint options. In addition, you can paint elements of the Forza Aero Bumpers and Forza Aero Rear Wings independently. This includes the material and supports on the wing, and the tow hook on the bumpers.
As for tuners, you can overhaul your Kei cars with motorcycle engine swaps. We've also fully overhauled the entire car roster to be better balanced across all performance classes in the game, including a new R Class division that has been specifically introduced for track-focused cars.
Additionally, there are over 100 fresh rims for you to choose from, and you can now install different rims on the front and rear of your cars. In Forza Horizon 6, the cars you are driving are now also affected by the world around them. New cosmetic tire wear means each car responds authentically as you rack up the miles on those iconic Japanese roads, and all tires (except off-road) have also been refreshed with new patterns and details.
Keep your eyes open while you're driving around Japan, as you might spot a potentially rare Aftermarket Car, or receive a clue for an abandoned Barn Find or Treasure Car.
Parked around Japan are Aftermarket Cars, which you can test drive or add to your collection. Some of these can be found near the Horizon Festival, while others require you to drive through the many regions of Japan with a sharp eye. Aftermarket Cars that match a Festival Race's campaign restriction can often be found to purchase nearby, so keep an eye on the map for the icon when approaching a race. Others will be located near Time Attack Circuits, fitted with modifications ideal for a track day.
These cars are typically offered at a discount, and they include some extremely rare and unique models to show off in your garage. For car collectors, they'll be a must-have. Some of the Aftermarket Cars you might encounter on your travels include the 2003 Honda S2000 featuring a Rocket Bunny body kit, the 1993 Autozam AZ-1 upgraded with Mazdaspeed parts, and the 2015 McLaren 570S Coupe equipped with Duke Dynamics modifications.
As you explore Japan, your friend and experienced Japanese car builder Mei will be in touch about some brilliant, yet abandoned cars with photograph clues to help you locate them. We call these Treasure Cars, inspired by the many iconic Japanese cars that have been left abandoned. They are found purely by exploring the map, and you’ll need to use the photo provided to figure out exactly where these cars are. When you find a Treasure Car, you can restore it and drive it immediately or choose to add it to your garage. A few of the Treasure Cars you can expect to salvage include the 1991 Nissan Figaro, 1985 Nissan Safari Turbo and 1969 Dodge Charger R/T.
In addition to Aftermarket Cars and Treasure Cars, Barn Finds also make their return, with clues for these rustic cars given to you as you collect Stamps for your Collection Journal. Be sure to check out our campaign overview for more details about the progression you can look forward to in Forza Horizon 6.
Lastly, Forza Edition cars return to Forza Horizon 6, and this time, these special cars have been fitted with extreme modifications, making each one a worthy addition to your garage. Here are some of the wild Forza Edition cars you can look forward to obtaining and driving at the Horizon Festival in Japan: A track-spec 1985 Toyota Sprinter, a 1994 Subaru Vivio RX-R purpose-built for time-attack, and for VIP members (requires additional purchase), a 1999 Dodge Viper GTS ACR with some real off-road prowess!
Now that we've taken a closer look at the cars and customization of Forza Horizon 6, as well as the ways you can acquire unique vehicles in the game, let's talk about the social features that are designed to bring car enthusiasts together.
The Horizon Festival is better when you play together. In Forza Horizon 6, there is more for you and your friends to do together in the open world than ever before, with cooperative LINK skills earnable with other players and new shared experiences including Car Meets, Time Attack Circuits, and Drag Meets.
These are seamlessly part of the open world, with no loads and no matchmaking to create a truly social experience for you and your friends.
Our Skills System is always rewarding, whether drifting, getting big air, or banking incredible skill chains, and now you can earn these skills together. Our new LINK Skills feature rewards you if you bank a skill at the same time as another player – so whether you're tandem drifting or you've choreographed a 12-player Barrell Roll, you’ll be rewarded for doing so.
LINK Skills are the most frictionless way to play with other Horizon drivers as you explore Japan together.
Japan is world-renowned for its iconic car meets, like Daikoku; and inspired by these experiences, Forza Horizon 6 sees the return of Car Meets, now integrated into the Shared Open World. This means that as you explore Japan, you’ll see real live players at Car Meets and be able to join them instantly without any loading screens to slow you down.
There will be three Car Meet locations scattered throughout Japan, including the Horizon Festival Site, the Okuibuki Parking Lot located high up in the alpine, and of course, we have Daikoku – an iconic car meetup in Tokyo City inspired by the real-world location. That’s not all; we’ll also be adding new temporary Car Meets throughout our Live Program on the Festival Playlist.
Car Meets are places where you can show off your cars, download tunes and liveries that have been shared, and even buy a stock version of the incredible cars that you see from the Autoshow. Each player’s character, featuring their personalized look and clothing selections, will also be standing beside their car, and you can enter a first-person camera on a car-by-car basis to get a closer look at each vehicle on display.
Car Meets are also a great place to meet other players. You can Convoy up and explore the open world of Japan together, where you'll experience new Shared World features including Drag Meets and Time Attack Circuits, as well as classic events, like Street Races and new Touge Battles – iconic night-time races down Japanese mountain passes.
Time Attack challenges you to set the fastest lap time across multiple circuits in the Shared World. Think of it a bit like Shared World Rivals.
Time Attack takes place across multiple grassroots circuits, from high-speed road circuits to thrilling offroad adventure parks; each one offers a unique challenge – there's even one on Legend Island!
To start one, simply drive through the gantry and away you go. There are no loading times, no instance out; everything takes place within the Shared World.
Your next objective is simple: set the fastest lap time possible.
When you set your first lap time, you lock in your ‘Current Best’ – that’s your time to beat! In Time Attack, you seamlessly hot lap as many times as you like, and for every lap you complete, you’ll earn Credits and XP along the way. You'll also see your time-splits throughout the circuit.
We believe that Horizon is better together, and Time Attack is no exception. Time Attack Circuits will allow you to compete with your friends in real-time on the new Convoy Leaderboard, which shows your Convoy's current best lap times on the circuit. Simply invite them to a Convoy and away you go.
Remember, this is all in the Shared World. Players can turn up in any car they like... so you never quite know who’ll show up.
Every Time Attack Circuit is accompanied by an in-world Leaderboard, which shows the best times across the globe. These Leaderboards show your best time at your car’s current PI level, your next rival, and the global top 3. These Leaderboards reset each season, creating a brand-new weekly routine, where you can get your name up in lights.
Drag Meets are a new Shared World feature where you test your car’s performance across multiple, varied Drag Strips. At launch there will be 3 Drag Strips: the Festival Site 1K, the Irokawa Space Center ¼ Mile, and the Airfield 1/2 Mile.
To start a Drag Meet, simply drive to a start grid and "ready up." Then, wait for the green light and floor it! Drag Meet tree lights are synchronized for every player, so you can all take off together. Yes – we heard you – synchronized tree lights are back!
Each Drag Meet can host up to 12 players, and like Time Attack, there is no matchmaking and loading screens, so the entire experience is seamless.
Drag Meets also support new Convoy Leaderboards and weekly in-world Leaderboards too, so be sure to upgrade your car for fast acceleration and high speeds.
In addition to the new Convoy Leaderboards and in-world Leaderboard for our Shared Open World features, there will also be classic Leaderboards for PR Stunts and Rivals as before. What’s more, all Leaderboards can now be filtered by PI class, and while Time Attack Circuit and Drag Meet Leaderboards reset weekly, all other Leaderboards in the game are permanent.
We're launching Forza Horizon 6 with improvements in place to help detect unrealistic scores on Rivals and Time Attack Leaderboards from day one thanks to our new exploit score detection and removal systems.
Whether you’re playing by yourself, or with the Horizon community, we can’t wait for you to experience all these new features together, when Forza Horizon 6 launches.
Forza Horizon 6 is coming to Xbox Series X|S consoles and PC on May 19 and to PlayStation 5 later this year, with Early Access included in the Premium Edition. Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members can also purchase the Premium Upgrade to play the full game up to four days early starting on May 15.
Pre-orders are now live on Microsoft Store and Steam. If you purchase the game before its release, you will receive an exclusive, pre-tuned Ferrari J50! You can also add the game to your Wishlist on the PlayStation Store to be notified of availability.
Be sure to join our Forza Discord server to chat all things Forza Horizon 6 and participate in community events. Plus, follow @ForzaHorizon on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest updates from the Horizon Festival.
