Forza Horizon 6 is officially leaving the Xbox One in the dust, and honestly, it’s about time. Playground Games is now focusing all its energy on Xbox Series X and PC, dropping the decade-old hardware support that was holding the game back. This move isn’t just a tech upgrade – it’s opening doors to fresh ideas, bigger worlds, and cooler gameplay that simply wouldn’t fit on older consoles.
Why Forza Horizon 6 Dropping Xbox One Changes Everything
Playground’s design director, Torben Ellert, calls this shift a “sea change.” When you’re not squeezing the game into the Xbox One’s limits, suddenly there’s a lot more room to innovate. One standout new feature is the introduction of Aftermarket and Treasure cars. Instead of hunting through endless menus, you’ll find unique vehicles parked around Japan that you can buy at a discount and test drive immediately. Plus, rare Treasure Cars are hidden across the map, waiting to be restored and driven. This fresh way to collect cars makes exploring the huge new world feel rewarding and natural.
All of this is possible because the Xbox Series X gives the developers more memory headroom, letting cars spawn directly in the open world without killing performance. It’s a small change that completely changes how you discover and enjoy cars.
Japan Setting and Tokyo City Push the Series to New Scale
The new setting for Forza Horizon 6 is Japan, and it’s massive. Tokyo City alone is five times bigger than Forza Horizon 5’s Guanajuato. Art director Don Arceta explains that focusing on current-gen hardware allowed the team to push visuals and scale way beyond what was possible before. Dense urban streets mixed with lush, dense foliage create a stunning mix of environments that look and feel alive.
Arceta describes the challenge of bringing Tokyo City to life as “terrifying” but thrilling, and the choice to tackle Japan was partly because the team wanted to push themselves and avoid getting too comfortable. Ellert adds, “Japan has been on the short list of locations we would have loved to do many times, but this time I think the fear response was healthy – rather than just full-blown panic.”
More than just graphics: small improvements that add up to a better game
This next-gen focus isn’t just about bigger maps and prettier streets. You’ll notice micro improvements everywhere, like water kicking up from tires when racing in the rain, or neon signs shimmering overhead during night drives in Tokyo. The game also promises better post-launch support, including seasonal transitions that feel more natural and long-requested tuning and customization options, such as painting liveries on your car windows.
Shared open-world activities are getting a boost, too. Car Meets won’t require loading screens anymore, and new Time Attack circuits and Drag Meets come with real-time leaderboards, making competition more exciting and immediate.
Ellert credits the game’s polish to years of collaboration and iteration. Features like the Customizable Garage and the Estate grew out of player feedback and previous games’ successes, like Horizon 5’s Event Lab. The team keeps building on what works, extending ideas until they feel fresh instead of tossing everything out for something completely new.
All this effort, fueled by Playground’s “relentless pursuit of excellence,” is shaping Forza Horizon 6 into one of the best racing games of this generation. Leaving the Xbox One behind isn’t just a tech upgrade – it’s a whole new chapter for the series.
