Forza Horizon 6 launches on May 19, 2026, but some players can start playing earlier through the old New Zealand trick. It is the same time zone workaround Xbox players have used for years: change your console’s location to New Zealand, restart, and use the game’s local midnight unlock to play before it goes live in your own region.
One important caveat is that this only helps if you already have access to the game through a version that unlocks based on local time. For Forza Horizon 6, that means Xbox Series X|S and the Xbox app / Microsoft Store PC versions. The Steam version uses a global unlock time instead, so changing your PC region will do nothing.
When does Forza Horizon 6 early access start?
Forza Horizon 6 early access starts on May 15, 2026, for players who own the Premium Edition or Premium Upgrade. The Premium package includes four days of early access, VIP Membership, Welcome Pack, Car Pass, the Time Attack Car Pack, the Italian Passion Car Pack at a later date, and two post-launch expansions.
When does Forza Horizon 6 regular and Game Pass access start?
The standard release is May 19, 2026. The Xbox version of Forza Horizon 6 unlocks at 12:01 am local time in most regions, while U.S. Pacific players get access at 9:01 pm PDT the evening before. These times are the same for the players who intend to play the game with their Game Pass subscription. The Steam version follows a separate global unlock schedule.
How to play Forza Horizon 6 early with the New Zealand trick
To use the New Zealand trick on Xbox, you need to change your location to New Zealand. Since the game is doing the regional rollout, you can start playing way before the game officially launches in your region.
To change your region to New Zealand on Xbox Series S|X, you need to:
- Open your console settings.
- Navigate to System.
- Select Language & location.
- Change your location to New Zealand.
- Restart your Xbox.
These steps should allow you to start playing the game as soon as it becomes available in New Zealand. For the Premium Edition owners, this means you can already use this trick to access the game.
Regular edition and Game Pass players will be able to use the same method from 12:01 am NZST on May 19.
Does the New Zealand trick work on PC?
If you own the Xbox app / Microsoft Store PC version, it follows Microsoft’s local unlock structure, so it may work there after changing your Windows region settings to New Zealand. Usually, this method works, but there have been instances in the past where games crashed or would not launch if you did this trick. Still, there are no downsides to trying it.
To change your region to New Zealand on PC, you need to:
- Open your Windows settings.
- Navigate to Time & language.
- Select Language & region.
- Under Region, find Country or region.
- Change your location to New Zealand.
- Restart the Xbox app.
- If it still shows your original region, restart your PC.
- Sign out and sign back in the Microsoft Store if the Xbox app still shows your original region.
If it still refuses after that, or the game doesn’t launch after the successful change, it’s probably better to leave it alone and just wait for a couple of hours.
Is the New Zealand trick bannable?
It’s understandable that some people are worried about doing anything that sounds less than legitimate after Playground Games threatened to hardware-ban the players who accessed the game’s leaked build, but this is not that.
Xbox players have been doing this for years, and Microsoft hasn’t done anything to prevent or dissuade this. As things stand, this is a safe thing to do.
If you’re interested in the game but still unsure whether you want to pick it up, you can read our review on it.
