I was lucky enough to play Forza Horizon 6 early, before its launch on May 19. Although it’s only a glimpse of what the final game will contain, I discovered new features that, while small in themselves, all add up to a big impact on the game.
From what I’ve seen it’s still a huge work in progress, so there’s still more to come, but overall, it’s shaping up to be something special. Check out my full Forza Horizon 6 preview for more complete thoughts.
1. Regional Mascots give you credits to spend on your cars
We’re all familiar with Forza Horizon’s bonus boards, which have the XP gains and reduced fast travel costs that previous games had.
I’m still waiting to hear about fast travel in Forza Horizon 6, but new this year are Regional Mascots.
Each different region has a nice set of mascots mapped across the map and smashing them rewards 5,000 credits each. With 200 to crush under your wheels, that’s a lot of money to put towards better cars.
In the early game, especially, this should give you an easy boost to your bank balance.
2. Aftermarket cars can be bought on the map for cheap
I don’t know how many of these will be in the final game and where they will be placed, but the build preview showed a selection of vehicles for sale that you can acquire and drive up to.
All of these are sold with pre-installed tuning settings and even aftermarket bodykits, saving you the trouble of doing the job yourself.
They are also available at a discounted rate, so you can get a better ride and save some credits in the process. What don’t you like?
3. Forza Horizon 6 has an autopilot feature
I have never used ANNA satnav in previous Forza Horizon games, but in Forza Horizon 6 it is more useful.
Not only does it help you easily access the next races you need to advance to Horizon Festival, but it can now take you to them.
The auto-drive feature will take over and drive you safely to your destination, albeit much slower than you would get there yourself.
But the icing on the cake is the cinema mode. Once enabled, the UI disappears, and you’re treated to a full cinematic view of your road trip. Making your own Forza Horizon 6 movie has never been easier.
Or, you know, you can leave it open and grab a coffee. Or a bathroom break.
4. Drag racing is more real than ever
Drag racing has always been a fun, instant Forza Horizon adrenaline hit, but Drag Meets in Forza Horizon 6 adds a little more reality.
The game doesn’t hold you to the starting line; You are responsible for your presentation. Take your preferred grid slot, and you’ll have a real lights system that counts down to the start.
If you touch the throttle early, you will jerk and jump start. So time is upon you.
Fortunately, it’s easy enough to get the hang of it by holding the brake and engaging the launch control. But the reaction time depends on you. The division stage is too late and the win could be gone.
There will be far, far more to come from Forza Horizon 6 at final release. The preview build was hard locked for development before you even qualified for Horizon Festival, and some parts of the map were still locked.
Still, it’s shaping up to be something very special, and there isn’t too much time to wait for it.
Forza Horizon 6 launches on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud on May 19, 2026. Early Access for Ultimate Edition consumers begins on May 15, 2026.