In Playground Games' latest collaboration with IGN, the team discusses building Tokyo / Japan for the Forza Horizon 6 map, and how it's taken feedback on board from past Forza Horizon titles to create a "rich" experience for franchise fans.
Indeed, the above video kicks off with a rather candid introduction; one that basically admits Forza Horizon 5's desert-filled map didn't always resonate with fans - leading to the team crafting a richer, denser and move varied world in this year's entry of Xbox's open world racing series.
We'll throw the full quote on that down below:
"Part of the way that we design Forza Horizon games is that we look at how players receive previous games - what is it that resonates, what is it that maybe looks like a really great idea on paper but just doesn't get picked up when it's actually playable on the sticks.
The thing that we see again and again and again is that feeling of movement between spaces. Moving between a desert and a different kind of desert; that's a very ephemeral change. But, moving from the suburbs into downtown [with Forza Horizon 6], that is immediate. Coming out of an alley — which is super narrow — onto a four-lane major road through the middle of the city, that's immediate.
Those super small scale changes create the sense that this map is rich and full of things to do."
This is just what we like to hear, especially because we agree that FH5's map just didn't have the stopping power that past Forza Horizon games did. The video goes on to talk more about Tokyo City and the rest of the unique biomes packed into Forza Horizon 6's Japan, and is well worth a watch if you'd like to hear more about how the map is coming together ahead of release.
We'll also share some of our related FH6 stories down below, including a look at some of these biomes straight from the team, alongside more talk about how campaign progression and in-world activities will work this time around.