Sorry Fans, The Horizon Festival is Ending With Forza Horizon 6 Set in Japan

All good things must come to an end. We’ve heard that before and it doesn’t really hold when it comes to video game franchises but that might really become the case here as the award-winning longest running Forza spin-off, the Horizon series might finally come to an end with its sixth entry into the franchise according to rumors.

Foza has no doubt become one of the most successful first-party franchises in recent years over. Forza Horizon 5 is the latest entry into the franchise and is by far the best arcade racing game that’s come to Xbox consoles.

Forza Horizon 6 to be the Last Entry into the Franchise

It appears that the next Forza game is scheduled for 2023. While the Horizon Festival has been in full swing for a solid few years, it might be the case that we might get some simulation-based race track gameplay with the equally compelling iteration of the franchise, Forza Motorsport which is a stark contrast from the silly and fun arcade nature of Forza Horizon games. A job listing also hinted at the next entry into the Forza Horizon franchise too.

It’s sad to see that the long-running action-packed ridiculously expansive arcade racing video game is finally coming to an end in 2025 according to leaks. We’ve had a pretty long ride and it’s been a whole lot of fun.

The Forza Horizon series had little in common with its Motorsport counterpart. While Horizon was never a Ridge Racer-style arcade game, it was pretty accessible for that matter as the physics felt somewhat grounded and there was a difference in the handling of the various cars in the game. The driving was incredible forgiving and it was pretty easy for anyone to pick up and learn to play.

However, it appears that the Forza Horizon franchise might come to an unexpected end with the final installment into the franchise being Forza Horizon 6. A new rumor has surfaced from a renowned leaker by the name of Moat @xboxxgreen who claims that Forza Horizon 6 will be the last Forza Horizon Game.

Rumor: Forza Horizon 6 is the last Forza Horizon game. It will be set in Japan and will release in 2025, the game will release on Xbox Series X|S and PC and Xbox Game Pass day 1 #Xbox #XboxSeriesX pic.twitter.com/WwSSMinj6h

— Moat (@Moat_Games) August 28, 2022

The leaker also claims that the final entry to the series will be set in good old Japan. A 2025 release date has been speculated for Forza Horizon 6, which is just two years after Forza Motorsport.

The previous iteration in the Forza Horizon series, Forza Horizon 4 was a convincing render of the UK setting. The game threw a lot at you in terms of cars, side missions, activities, innovative races, matches, and everything you could think of and hope for. The game also featured daily and weekly updated races and missions and if you missed out on a week of it, players would have no idea what was going on in terms of the rich amount of content added to the game.

Players got tons of DLC content and islands to visit. We got to visit Lego Island where guess what? Everything was entirely made out of Lego. The cars the trees, and the event even featured Lego Minifigures and Lego buildings. Lego Speed Champions felt like a step in the right direction akin to the Hot Wheels add-ons we got back in 2017. We even got a radio Awesome that aggressively played the Lego hymn ” Everything is Awesome” non-stop. 

Across the series, players also got to experience Hot Wheels add-ons for the franchise twice with the second iteration for Forza Horizon 5 taking the game to new heights literally with its amazing racing tracks and custom maps that were a breath of fresh air compared to what we got back in Forza Horizon 3. Players also enjoyed a selection of iconic Hot Wheels cars and it felt like every Hot Wheels Die-Cast Owners dream.

Likewise, we’ll also get to see some interesting events, islands, and add-on content for Forza Horizon 6 and with Playground’s grounded reputation and legacy, we expect a lot from them with their final entry into the Forza Horizon Franchise.

This seems like a pretty risky move on Microsoft’s part. While the Forza franchise does its best to push the boundaries of imagination with the Horizon games, the arcade nature of the game appeals to a much wider audience than Forza Motorsport could ever realistically achieve so if Microsoft takes the approach to focus in on racing simulation, the company could most possibly lose out on a good chunk of the Forza player base.

It’s possible that Forza Horizon 6 could have more live-service elements. The gaming industry has gradually shifted to a live-service approach and Microsoft is becoming pretty familiar and cozy with this genre.

Relevant: Forza Horizon 4 won’t launch on Windows.

we are hopeful when we say that the Franchise would be eventually rebooted with a new Festival in the works other than the beloved Horizon Festival that’s taken place for the past decade. Till then, Forza 6 might be updated till the inevitable reboot of the franchise. Forza Motorsport has seen a similar fate with a reboot of the upcoming entry, so a similar fate for the Horizon series or a brand new stand-alone series wouldn’t be all too surprising.

While fans might not be exactly excited about this news, knowing that their favorite arcade racing franchise might come to an end, it’s safe to say that the franchise is going pretty strong right now.

At the moment, Forza Horizon 5 has been received exceptionally well garnering a player base of over 20 million active users worldwide. The developer, Playground Games could be looking well beyond the expectations and the legacy set up for Forza Horizon 6 to create a masterpiece that could be deemed as a worthy send-off for the legendary franchise.

So, do you think Forza Horizon 6 should be the last entry into the franchise or do you want more Horizon Festival-themed games? Let us know in the comments below. We upload daily on Appuals, so stay tuned for more. Till then, see you later and goodbye.

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