With less than two weeks to go before Forza Horizon 6 hits Early Access, Playground Games has confirmed that the game has officially gone gold. That means the game is finished, locked in, and now being prepared for both physical discs and digital release.
Forza Horizon 6 has gone gold! We're excited to share this news as we start revealing the game's radio stations, accessibility features, and more! Don't forget that preloads for the game on Xbox Series X|S and the Xbox PC app are now available! 🏅
Read all about it here:… pic.twitter.com/WOzBU3Qcw6
— Forza Horizon (@ForzaHorizon) May 4, 2026
That is always a good sign when we are this close to launch, especially for a game as massive as this one. Forza Horizon 6 is bringing the series to Japan, which is easily one of the most requested locations since the franchise first started letting us tear across open-world festival maps.
The other big part of this news is that preload is now live on Xbox Series X|S and PC through the Xbox app. Steam preload is not live just yet, but it is coming soon. Just make sure you have some space ready, because this game is going to take up a lot of your precious storage space. Forza Horizon 6 will require at least 135GB on Xbox Series X, 130GB on Xbox Series S, and 160GB on PC.
Players who pre-ordered the Standard, Deluxe, or Premium Edition can preload the game now. The same goes for anyone with an active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscription. Even if you are buying the disc version, you can still use the Xbox mobile app to download the game to your console ahead of time.
Early Access for Forza Horizon 6 starts on May 15, 2026, for those who purchased the Premium Edition or Premium Upgrade. The full release follows on May 19, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, and PC. A PlayStation 5 version is also planned, which still feels wild to say for a Forza Horizon game. That version does not have a release date yet, so PlayStation players will have to wait a bit longer before heading to Japan.
Forza Horizon 6 Quality and Performance Modes on Xbox
Along with news of the game going gold, Playground Games also confirmed the visual modes for Forza Horizon 6 on Xbox Series X|S, giving players the choice between image quality and a smoother framerate.
On Xbox Series X, Quality Mode runs at native 4K and 30fps with increased visual fidelity. Performance Mode targets 4K while using dynamic resolution scaling to maintain 60fps.
Xbox Series S players will also get both options. Quality Mode runs at 1440p and 30fps, while Performance Mode runs at 1080p and 60fps. Both modes use dynamic resolution scaling to help keep the framerate stable.
For those wondering the Forza Horizon 6 PC requirements, we covered that a few weeks back.
As someone who loves racing games, has been playing them for as long as he can remember, and has a fascination with Japan’s car culture, I can’t wait to finally get my hands on this game. My god, I still love the KPGC110 Nissan Skyline GT-R and seeing Forza Horizon 6 finally lean into Japan feels like something I’ve been waiting on for years.
And since I won’t be the person reviewing the game for the outlet, I get to take all the time I want with what I’m hoping will be a masterpiece of cars and culture. No rushing, no review clock, just me, Japan, and a garage full of cars I’ll probably spend way too much time tweaking.
I can’t wait!
