“This is the time when we can really achieve justice”

Discovering the location of the next Forza Horizon game has been an exciting time for fans of Playground Games' Juggernaut Open World Racing Series. For example, the trailer for Forza Horizon 3, e.g. Still making me feel chilled. I still remember the first time I watched that volume and was looking forward to it. At the time, my existing doubt that the series would be down, had zero impact on the joy I gathered from that trailer. It's still one of the best editing game trailers I've ever seen – racing or other situations.

The prospect of Forza Horizon 6 happening in Japan feels like one of the worst secrets in the racing gaming business. Recent rumors about the Japanese environment Posts deleted by Australian Auto Import Company A Forza Horizon developer visit was discussed to specifically scan Late-Model Kei cars for the next part of the series. For many Forza fans, it's a smoking gun and they're right.

Today, this is the official: Forza Horizon 6 yes Heading to Japan – But this confirmation of the next stop at the Horizon Festival is equally exciting, as the cat has essentially jumped out of the bag. Since the Colorado debut of the 2012 Forza Horizon series, Japan is perhaps the place that has consistently demanded the next step.

From his perspective, Don Arceta, art director of playground games, has a philosophical attitude toward leaks and is firmly focused on the energy the team gathers from such announcements.

“That was one of the most exciting parts; when we reveal where we are in the next game,” Arceta said. “It's definitely super exciting. With the leak, it's unfortunate, but it's part of the industry. But, it happens. But yes, now people know where the location is, we're excited, yes, now we can actually provide more details when the time is right.”

According to Arceta, Japan is the always shortlisted location for Forza Horizon treatment – ​​but now Time Playground Games can complete location justice.

“Japan is where fans want,” he explained. “Everyone's idea has been there since we shipped the FH1. So we're totally aware of that and why people are going to that location.”

“Obviously, because it has a rich automotive culture, it's an exotic place. When you think of Japan, there are a lot of iconic things and your mind goes away. Even for developers, this is the place we always want to do. Whenever we go through the process of choosing our location, it's pretty broad, it's pretty long and long, and if Japan is always lying in the mix, I wouldn't lie.”

Arceta nominated two key catalysts to decide to finally bring Japan to life. The first involves the team's growing desire to celebrate and embrace the culture of the chosen country in a more meaningful way – which has been greatly added in the Mexico map of Forza Horizon 5. The second one is very simple: this is technology.

“Obviously, we have the Xbox Series X,” Arceta said. “We've had a lot of time since FH5, so we have a good understanding of technology and it's just how we build these open worlds. All the technology and tools we've got in the series; these things are all in one, like, yes, 'Yes, we can do Japan this time. This is something we can really do justly.'' It's really important for us to do something that can do that justice.”

So while a trip to Japan might be somewhat out of date for the series, Arceta is convinced that drying its powder for some extra iteration will ultimately bring the best results.

“We only had one chance to come to this location in Japan and we wanted to make sure we did it right,” he said. “So, getting all the previous learnings from previous games and then getting more integrated with people like kyoko (Yamashita) who really can help us create a real Japanese version.”

Yamashita is a gaming industry veteran who has been working as a cultural consultant at Forza Horizon 6 for the past 18 months. She is also a determined shifter and Porsche fanatic.

“I'm a car (and) racing enthusiast from many years ago!” she smiled. “So I drove through the streets, mountains and Tatu Road in Japan, which is also the regular weekend event I’ve also returned to California.”

Yamashita's mission is to assist the playground game to bring Japan to life in the most realistic way while still being true to the pillars of the Horizon series.

“I was introduced to playground games through an industry colleague,” she explained. “So I’ve been in the gaming industry for a while and my main role as an independent consultant for the industry is to bridge two cultures: anywhere in Japan and the West.”

“So they introduced my playground game, ‘Hey, this is what (Forza Horizon) is going to go next, will you be interested?’ For me, my career intersecting with my personal passion is the perfect one.

Yamashita realizes that there is a desire in the playground game to get someone on the side of the team earlier than Forza Horizon 5 in the process.

“In my case, I've actually been working with PG for about 18 months,” Yamashita said. “It's been a long time. My first start was with the team 18 months ago, and I gave Japan 101 presentations – not I'm a Japanese encyclopedia with everything that's in place and can show up on the walk, but it's actually a start. I've put some full-day work on PG all day. For me, it's a way to get me answer. Single topic?”

Yamashita details this can be tricky because she isn't always fully aware of the initial assignments the playground game team does on certain topics, but she does feel she's able to align with the team's intentions by understanding their goals.

“From the month I've been so far, there's a lot of material and hours of conversation,” Yamashita said. “There's a lot of depth – not only in car culture, but also in entertainment and cooking, just walking through the streets of the hills on the streets of Tokyo. From a Western perspective, what you're seeing, I don't think anyone is a huge challenge, for anyone, it's divided on the surface and seen it in a range, if it can be seen in a video or a movie, it's a certain number, or your video or a movie, it's a certain interface or a certain person, it's a certain boundary. Going into the portal of Japanese culture – depending on what your passion is, what your interests are.

“But I think it's more like, 'Well, this is our impression of this particular thing; first of all, is it just a more western perspective, or isn't it?' It's the basic question. Or how do we make it feel not only real, but because of the Japanese players – people who are going to experience this from their people My own The view of the country – they feel like, 'Wow, yes, Horizon 6 really did it right. They really studied us. They feel like the game is like they are living and experiencing their own country.

“From a Western perspective, I've been saying that I want players to feel the same, if they haven't visited Japan yet, that's living through their player characters. It's experience, feeling, sound, texture, texture; you can almost smell it. You can almost smell it. That's what I feel like to cook and sensitivity, and the team has a lot of research and homework to achieve this life to achieve this life.”

Arceta reiterated that Yamashita played a role in helping the playground game team find the right balance.

“Obviously, as a Western developer, there are a lot of movies that make up Japan somehow and there are vloggers and all YouTube channels happening,” he said. “But Kyoto just let us rely on the Japanese perspective, which is really different from the way all movies and video museums are displayed, which is really great, and it's nice to get her perspective on it.”

“The team also visited Japan with Kyoto and we witnessed the car culture firsthand. It was amazing, just to get the feeling and the atmosphere. It was definitely not the same as what you went through in the movie. But, I think, I think, with the horizon, we obviously got a lot of people's perspectives. yes That is, for us, it's a balanced act that keeps it rooted, while also giving people expectations for a movie or show. ”

Unfortunately.

“Yes, I can’t cover the details of what the car is going to appear, as well as the exact model and manufacturer,” Arceta acknowledged. “However, it’s clear that Horizon has a lot of car options in the game, and for Japan there’s certainly a uniqueness, we’re capturing our civilian traffic, the cars you can actually buy, Forza Edition Cars.

But, glad it was Asetta able Discussing the map itself, he may not surprisingly describe it as the team's “most ambitious map to date”.

“I think with each of our titles, we're going to move forward with ambitions,” he said. “It's definitely our biggest map, and a map with a lot of contrast. I can say we'll have the city of Tokyo in the game, which is probably the most complex and complex space we have in the toughest areas of the Horizon game. Then we compared the beautiful open roads with coastal roads and beautiful open roads like Plains with straw paddies. I think it's a great opposite.

“Especially in the city; the balance with the horizon experience. Because when you think of Tokyo, it’s a narrow street, which is a big traffic. So it’s a huge challenge. The team has been doing well, establishing the horizon experience in the biome of Tokyo cities.

“Personally, because I love architecture, the city of Tokyo is amazing. There are a lot of amazing places, landmarks and points of interest that we recreated Horizon in the game. Honestly, whenever I see a new version of the game, I just, I'm just, like, wow, it's amazing. wait Let players see this.

Japan will surely enjoy the Renaissance of racing in 2025, at least as a background, with ambitious independent racers JDM: Japanese Drift Master And Genki's victory return Tokyo Xtreme Racer Both have arrived in recent months. Arceta is happy to see it.

“It's great to see Japan; not only in racing but also in other types of games that celebrate Japan,” he said. “We're very happy to celebrate Japan, but the way we celebrate the locations in the horizon and inject the horizon in our own way, with freedom, fun and the beauty and beauty of the horizon. Yes, it's exciting to see other games do that, and we're also very excited to appreciate our own stamps.”

Luke is a senior editor of the IGN Review Team. You can follow him on Bluesky @mrlukereilly and ask him about things.