Joe Skrebels at Xbox Wire has posted an interview with Art Director, Don Arceta and Cultural Consultant, Kyoko Yamashita of Playground Games to discuss more about the setting of Japen for Forza Horizon 6.

Whilst I highly recommend checking out the full Xbox Wire article, I have some thoughts and quotes noted here.

The biggest take away from the article for me was how much empathises Playground Games are putting on the feeling of Japan. Through travelling to Japan, they have been able to take in not just how it looks, but how it feels to be there and be emersed in the environment observing endless beautiful elements that would be hard to capture otherwise.

“The trip to Japan demonstrated that the dev team were truly approaching Japan with the right level of curiosity and observation,” enthuses Yamashita. “During our fieldwork in Tokyo, most of the group were first-time visitors. A few days in, someone said, ‘For all the energy here, it’s… quiet.’ That observation – organized chaos with surprising calm – told me they weren’t just looking; they were feeling the place. It’s the kind of insight you can’t fake, and it shaped later conversations about movement, etiquette, and sound.”

As per previous Horizon titles, they are not trying to recreate a country one to one, they are recreating a map that captures the “culture essence”. And Yamashita highlights some of the advantages of engaging someone like himself:

Having a cultural consultant early helps you make a thousand small, respectful decisions: how neighborhoods sound, even what a sign color communicates about a shop. Those small choices add up to credibility and help avoid stereotypes, while also making it a truly immersive experience for players.

Talked about briefly in the Xbox Wire interview is also the fact that Tokyo City will be drivable and explorable.

From the neon lights and towering buildings of Tokyo City – one of our most detailed and layered environments to date – to the serenity and natural beauty of Japan’s rural and mountain areas, we think players will be blown away by the open world of Japan that we have built.

Obviously, we will need to see some gameplay to fully understand how the city is going to stack up and how it’ll be balanced out with the countryside but the more I hear, the more sold I am:

The beauty of Horizon games is that each one gives us learnings and ways to make the next even bigger and better,” says Arceta. “As well as taking player feedback into account, we’ve also been able to lean into more practical things – for instance, the Forza Horizon 5 Hot Wheels DLC has helped us develop the elevated roads of Tokyo City in FH6.

Yamashita is pushing for nothing short of authentic and I am here for it!

For locals and people who know Japan well, my hope is recognition: ‘Yes, that’s how it flows.’ Getting that balance right is a way of honoring the culture and the community that loves it.  It really will feel like a first time trip to Japan for players who have never been. We even hope that it might inspire some folks to take a real-world visit.

And of course, the cars:

In Japanese car culture, the depth and diversity is astonishing,” adds Yamashita. “Kei cars and vans with cult followings, precision motorsport, drifting’s roots, and their passion for customization really stands out. It’s welcoming to different levels of enthusiasm and knowledge, which is exactly the kind of layered world I want players to feel.

Fans including us here at 1-Up have speculated what a Forza Horizon game located in Japan might be like for years, maybe even all the years, and even if my personal number one song choice for the in-game radio doesn’t make the cut, this is shaping up to be something truly special.

Lastly, Arceta drops that “We’ll be revealing more on FH6 in early 2026″. Here’s hoping that means a Developer Direct appearance! As I said at the top, I highly recommend checking out the full Xbox Wire article & interview.