Forza racing fans can finally rest easy. If you want, you can even be excited now.
Why Were Fans Worried About Forza?
Two months ago, Turn 10 Studios was rumored to have huge layoffs. This was part of Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs across the entire company. Microsoft, and especially Microsoft Gaming, never addressed these rumors to reassure fans.
We can only speculate why Microsoft continues to stay mum on these layoffs. But they know very well they are the reasons speculation ran rampant about Turn 10 Studios and the Forza racing franchise.
Two weeks ago, Turn 10 shared a message to their community. They assured fans that they will ‘continue to support’ the Forza games. Turn 10 also revealed they would start adding time limited content to Forza Motorsport permanently.
That was a clear sign of ongoing support. But it wasn’t enough to reassure fans that they would be getting future Forza games.
Forza Could Be Drifting Its Way To Tokyo… Or Chiba?
Windows Central and Nate The Hate corroborate a rumor about Forza Horizon 6. Yes, Forza Horizon 6 is real, and is on the way, but that’s not all.
There’s been a leaked document making the rounds for a few days now. If the leaks are accurate, Forza Horizon 6 is set in Japan.
To punctuate this even further, Microsoft will be revealing Forza Horizon 6 in this year’s Tokyo Game Show. This gaming event is scheduled a full month from now, on September 25, 2025. The event is always held in convention center Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan.
But Do The Japanese Want A Forza Horizon Game?
Racing games are the odd genre that has a huge following in and outside of Japan. There are classic racing games made by Japanese devs like Daytona USA and Ridge Racer. But the genre’s shift to sim racing also shifted development from Eastern to Western game studios, such as Codemasters and Kunos Simulazioni.
This doesn’t mean Japanese racing game fans disappeared out of nowhere, however. WWE superstar Asuka made this post on Twitter:
Forza Horizon 4 was great fun driving through Britain. I think it’s about time they released a Horizon set in Japan.
Oh, you didn’t know about Asuka’s prior career in the video game industry? This is as good a time to start as any.
Japan has remained a sore spot for Xbox for years. But they have made genuine inroads in this console generation, especially after they introduced Game Pass in 2020.
This could be Microsoft’s big push to make Forza and also Xbox/Game Pass/Microsoft Gaming household names in Japan. If that does not convince you Microsoft is still betting big on Forza, we don’t know what will. Maybe you’ll just have to see them it be a huge success to recognize it in hindsight.
