Forza Horizon 6's Japan map is mondo-huge, Playground's 'Biggest map yet' and 'Also our most full'

Mount Fuji
(Image credit: Xbox)

Based on reports from our sources, PC Gamer can confirm that Japan is large. Not only large—huge, and stacked from top to bottom with stuff to do. At press time, Tokyo was reportedly at least twice as big as Milton Keynes and the island of Hokkaido was said to 'make the Isle of Wight look like a hatchback'.

Which is why Forza Horizon 6 is headed to the land of the rising sun. In a chat with GamesRadar, the arcade racing sim's art director Don Arceta said that the series' Japanese venture would be "our biggest map yet." But fear not, because it's "also our most full."

Just what you'd expect a dev on an upcoming release to say, I suppose, but I've got no reason to doubt Arceta. Playground hasn't run into much trouble creating bigger and more things-crammed worlds over the past couple of Horizon games, and it sounds like the studio didn't run into any trouble finding stuff to do in Japan, either.

"Obviously, we can't go bigger without filling it with things to do and see," said Arceta. "And I think this map that we've created for Japan, or Horizon's version of Japan, is big, but also dense. There's always something around the corner for you to discover and see. But yeah, it's bigger. I won't put a number on it. It is bigger."

Forza Horizon 5's Mexico map was, at a rough estimate, a tad over 100 square kilometres (or a touch over 38 square miles). Which is, my journalistic compulsion to tell the truth forces me to say, quite big for a videogame map, so it's kinda nuts that Horizon 6 will apparently dwarf it.

Forza Horizon 5's world was already pretty massive. (Image credit: Microsoft)

Unsurprisingly, Tokyo—currently the largest city on Earth—is a big part of that scale: "I think [Tokyo] is probably our most ambitious," said Arceta. "It's really layered and complex. And I think players will just enjoy that space. It'll be something new and fresh."

2025 gamesBest PC gamesFree PC gamesBest FPS gamesBest RPGsBest co-op games

2025 games: This year's upcoming releases
Best PC games: Our all-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
Best co-op games: Better together

Joshua Wolens
News Writer

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.