Playground games have been more evasive with Forza Horizon 6 than Rockstar games have been with GTA 6. Sure, Rockstar has been on a decade-long hiatus since the release of the last GTA, but they were always like that. On the other hand, Playground Games were consistent with their release schedule. They kept their cycle fixed with 2 years between each Forza Horizon game, till they broke that tradition with Forza Horizon 5, which released after 3 years of Forza Horizon 4.
This should’ve been a hint of what was about to come next. It’s been four years since the release of the last Horizon game, and fans are more impatient than ever. Plus, to add insult to injury, Xbox hasn’t dropped any news on the release of Forza Horizon 6 either — until now. While there is still no official trailer for the game, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has finally teased the release of a new Forza game.
When Will Forza Horizon 6 Be Released?
As of now, we don’t have an exact release date. However, Phil Spencer, in the Xbox Games Showcase, made it quite clear that the game will launch in 2026, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Xbox. Here’s what the CEO had to say:
I’m excited to share that players will get to celebrate 25 years of Xbox with a new Fable, the next Forza, Gears of War: E-Day, and the return of a classic that’s been with us since the beginning.
While most of us were expecting the game to be fully revealed in this showcase, it didn’t happen, but at least we got something. Now, we can rest easy knowing that Playground Games is developing Forza Horizon 6 in the shadows.
Some people are also debating whether it will be Forza 6 that is released, or a new Forza Motorsport game, since Phil didn’t specifically mention the franchise. I think that it’s quite clear that he was talking about the Horizon series, because Forza Motorsport recently got a new game in 2023. I doubt that they’ll release another Motorsport game this early.
As for the release date, the game will probably launch in the latter half of 2026. Playground Games has followed a pattern with all their horizon releases, where they officially announce the game in the first half of the year and launch it towards the end.
- Forza Horizon – October 2012 (Announced May 2012)
- Forza Horizon 2 – September 2014 (Announced May 2014)
- Forza Horizon 3 – September 2016 (Announced June 2016)
- Forza Horizon 4 – September 2018 (Announced June 2018)
- Forza Horizon 5 – November 2021 (Announced June 2021)
If they follow the same pattern, we can expect Forza Horizon 6 to be launched in the last 4 months of 2026.
The final and most important question that remains is, where will Forza Horizon 6 be based? While we can’t answer that with 100% confidence, all the rumors and speculation point towards Japan. The land of the rising sun has been on the wishlist of fans since Forza Horizon 2, and if Playground Games wants this release to be a success in the same year in which GTA 6 is launching, they need to listen to the community.
