‘The Next Forza’ Is Coming, But Is It Horizon 6?

Microsoft’s CEO officially announces ‘the next Forza’ game, but it leaves more questions than answers.

In the months leading up to the Xbox Games Showcase, the Forza community was buzzing with speculation of a Forza Horizon 6 announcement.

Although we got some news, it was far from the FH6 reveal fans had hoped for. Instead, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer provided a brief Forza mention that has left everyone wanting more.

What We Know From The Announcement

Spencer announced during the showcase: “I’m excited to share that players will get to share 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.”

Here’s a quick snippet if you don’t want to watch the full 2.5-hour video:

Notice how he said “the next Forza” and not “Forza Horizon 6” in the vaguest way possible? Yeah, it’s doing our heads in too.

Given that this is all that was mentioned, “the next Forza” isn’t definitively Horizon 6, but all current evidence points to it being extremely likely.

The last Forza Motorsport arrived in 2023 and is still getting plenty of updates, while we haven’t had a new Horizon game since 2021.

Assuming it does arrive next year as planned (we wouldn’t rule out a delay, given the current state of Fable’s development), a 2026 release will be the largest gap in Horizon history at five years, and the lack of fresh content for FH5 has been making it feel stale for a while.

It might still be feeling fresh and new for PlayStation fans, who were finally treated to the previous Xbox exclusive just a couple of months ago. However, most Xbox players believe it has reached the end of the road.

We Don’t Know For Sure If It’s Forza Horizon 6… Yet

Whether “the next Forza” will be something completely different remains to be seen.

Unconfirmed rumors have suggested that Forza Horizon 6 could be the final Horizon game, so perhaps Microsoft is being intentionally vague because it has a new trick up its sleeve.

We can’t rule out an entirely new version or spin-off of Forza, along the lines of “Forza Street” (which you may have chosen to forget), but this seems unlikely. Our money is still on this being Forza Horizon 6.

Could The New Release Date Be Bad Timing?

The delay of both the Fable reboot and GTA VI created what seemed to be the perfect opportunity for Forza Horizon 6 to arrive later this year. It’s a shame Playground Games couldn’t capitalize on the ideal fresh gap in the market.

Instead, both Fable and Forza Horizon 6 are now due to arrive in 2026, just in time to go up against GTA VI’s May 2026 release date. Well, unless that gets more delays, of course! For now, Fable clearly remains the priority for Playground Games.

The Long Wait Ahead For Horizon Fans

The tiny teaser is somewhat surprising given how Microsoft has used the showcase to officially announce past Forza Horizon games in the past. But at least it’s better than no news at all (well, sort of!)

Given that this is the first official news we’ve had about the next Forza, and with Playground Games being extremely quiet about the next installment, it looks to be a long year ahead with the lack of expected content updates for FH5.

When it does arrive, it’s still expected to be launched as an Xbox Series X|S and PC exclusive, before being ported to PlayStation at a later date, as we saw with Horizon 5.

Further details, along with the location, are yet to be announced, but at least we now have some official confirmation, albeit a little vague. Hopefully, the wait will (eventually) be worth it, and we’ll finally get to see Japan!

Right now, 2026 is shaping up to be absolutely bonkers for gaming. Between “the next Forza,” Fable, the newly announced 007 First Light, and GTA VI all dropping in the same year, plus heavy hitters like The Elder Scrolls VI and The Witcher IV potentially joining the party, you might want to start preparing your calendars (and wallets) ASAP!