The customized cars in *Forza Horizon 6* are cheaper now, and this time I really want to move into the Japan map.

The rain-darkened asphalt seems to press the daylight a little lower, and headlights skim across the wet road like wind slowly pushing aside a layer of silver foil. Every time I see new details about an open-world racing game like Forza Horizon 6, the first thing I think about isn’t the specs or the lap times, but whether this world has the power to make me pull over, look for the right angle, and hesitate to hit the gas. Now the answer is becoming clearer and clearer: it’s obviously trying to deepen not just the “fun to drive” part, but the atmosphere beyond that as well.

The most eye-catching reveal this time is Playground Games’ design philosophy for “custom cars.” In multiple hands-on previews, it has practically become the center of discussion, because these cars aren’t just about adding a few extra parts—they feature clearly recognizable, stylized modifications. For example, the 2003 Honda S2000 can be fitted with a “Rocket Bunny” body kit, while the 2015 McLaren 570S Coupe can be equipped with a Duke Dynamics package. On top of that, the game is launching with more than 550 vehicles in one go, and even custom options like window decals have been added. It’s the kind of setup where, with just a glance at a car’s silhouette, you’re already imagining the perfect photo angle.

Back to the game itself, I think its smartest move isn’t telling you how cool these custom cars are, but making them easier to access. The developers have clearly stated that custom cars will be priced very low. This isn’t a balancing mistake, but a deliberate choice by design director Torben Ellert, aimed at lowering the barrier to experimentation so more players will be willing to switch cars, drive them, and enter the related events. It’s a very smart approach, because in racing games, the biggest problem has never been having too few cars—it’s having so many cars you genuinely like, yet still feeling like you need to save up a little longer. And by then, your enthusiasm fades like the evening breeze.

What’s even better is that it doesn’t lock all of this away in menus. In Forza Horizon 6, custom cars will sometimes appear in Festival events, but most of them will be scattered across the open world, tied to the game’s newly introduced “fog of war” system. The map gradually unlocks as you explore, and the game’s full Japan map has already been described by the developers as the densest and most vertically layered map Playground Games has ever made. This kind of design naturally turns “let’s drive over and have a look” into something rewarding. You’re not moving around just to clear icons—you’re weaving through mountain roads, towns, and different biomes, and then suddenly coming across a car that’s worth driving. That kind of moment instinctively makes you hold your breath.

Beyond the visuals, though, what really interests me is the attitude behind the system. This time, the developers have added a “Collection Log” specifically to record the places you’ve visited and the scenery you’ve seen. Combined with traditional features like “Barn Finds,” drag races, time trials, and the new “Horizon Rush” events, the whole package emphasizes one thing: free exploration is gameplay in itself, not just downtime between races. Ellert put it very plainly as well—the core pillar is freedom. They don’t want to force players into doing any one thing, but instead try to embed incentives throughout the world. For someone like me, whose first instinct in a new area is to stop the car and take screenshots, that matters far more than simply cramming in more activities.

If you already like the Forza Horizon series, then what makes this entry especially worth watching isn’t just that the long-awaited Japan setting has finally become reality, but that it truly connects “exploring” and “customizing.” Low-priced custom cars will significantly reduce the barrier to getting started, especially for players planning to jump in at launch through Xbox Game Pass. Once it goes live on May 19, there’s almost no cost to trying it out—just go in, see whether this map feels like somewhere you’d want to live in, and then decide whether you want to stay in its garage for the long haul. My own judgment is simple: if a racing game can make me willingly put the race aside just to find the right roadside lighting and shadows, then it has probably already won.