Don't Expect an Exact Copy of Japan in Forza Horizon 6 - Developers Explain Why
In Forza Horizon 6, players will find Japan with recognizable landmarks - from the Tokyo Tower to the Shibuya crossing. At the same time, Playground Games does not aim to recreate the country "mile for mile", despite the fact that Tokyo has become the largest city the studio has ever developed.
Instead of an exact reconstruction, the team is focusing on conveying the "feeling of the place." Design Director Torben Ellert explained in an interview:
It's easy to perceive an authentic space as an exact reconstruction, but it's not about accuracy, it's about feeling. If you think about driving in Tokyo, what does it look like? What creates the feeling of this place? First you see the city from the highways, then you drive through the suburbs, and then you suddenly find yourself in the center, surrounded by skyscrapers.
He also added:
This is a game about roads and landmarks, about what you see in each place and what feelings arise when entering a turn. You don't recreate every corner — you recreate the feeling of discovery when you get there.
According to the developers, achieving this effect was not easy due to the large open world of Forza Horizon. The team sought to find a balance between the feeling of presence and "the fun of Horizon, where you can get into a hypercar, fly off a cliff and get points for it."
Forza Horizon 6 will be released on May 19 on Xbox Series X/S and PC, with the PS5 version scheduled for late 2026.
