The release date for Forza Horizon 6 appears to have leaked via Forza Horizon 5, ahead of next week’s Xbox Developer Direct.
Xbox is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2026 with what could be its biggest gaming line-up in years.
Halo: Campaign Evolved, Fable, and Gears Of War: E-Day are all expected to launch this year, but for many, the most exciting game in the pipeline is Forza Horizon 6. Developer Playground Games announced the sequel at last year’s Tokyo Game Show, with confirmation it will be set in Japan.
The studio is set to showcase gameplay from the title next week on Thursday, January 22 as part of the Xbox Developer Direct (along with Fable), but one potential announcement appears to have been outed early.
Xbox Infinite, an Xbox news account on X based in Saudi Arabia, posted an image allegedly from within Forza Horizon 5 which shows a promotional pop-up for the sequel.
The message includes details on a Premium Edition for Forza Horizon 6 with early access, which allows people to ‘play four days early starting May 15’. This suggests the standard version will launch May 19, 2026.
This Premium Edition also apparently includes Vip Membership, a Welcome Pack, a Car Pass, a Time Attack Car Pack, an Italian Passion Car Pack, and two ‘premium expansions’ post-launch.
While it’s unclear if the image is legitimate, this same release window has been corroborated by VGC. If you’re trying to find the advert yourself, Xbox Infinite claims it appeared when he left the garage and ‘before I started taking delivery of my car’, although it hasn’t appeared on repeat attempts.
It’s possible this message accidentally slipped through the cracks ahead of a planned announcement at the Xbox Developer Direct. Along with Forza Horizon 6 and Fable, the presentation will feature Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation and, according to rumours, a fourth mystery game.
Microsoft has said Forza Horizon 6 will ‘launch first’ across Xbox Series X/S and PC, with a release on PlayStation 5 expected afterwards.
If the release date is accurate, May is shaping up to be a busy month on the gaming calendar following GTA 6’s delay, with 007 First Light and Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight both arriving in the same window.
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