A Parent’s Guide to Forza Horizon 6

Forza Horizon 6 at a glance:

• Forza Horizon 6 is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, with a Content Descriptor for Mild Lyrics.
• Forza Horizon 6 costs $69.99 for the Standard Edition, but includes in-game purchases.
• Forza Horizon 6 takes place in an open-world Japan, putting players in the driver’s seat of the Horizon Festival

You may remember, I am a “Car Guy,” so, Forza Horizon 6 is right in my wheelhouse. As a Car Guy, I know all the things; tires, fan belt, hub cap… pretty sure there are some tubes in there somewhere… what have you. But if you’re not a Car Person like me, you may need some more information to decide if Forza Horizon 6 is a good fit for your family.

You’ve come to the right place for tips to help you decide!

Is Forza Horizon 6 Appropriate for Your Kids?

Forza Horizon 6 is rated E for Everyone with a Content Descriptor assigned for Mild Lyrics. There are also Interactive Elements assigned for Users Interact (meaning players can communicate through the game) and In-Game Purchases (which lets consumers know that the game includes the ability to spend real-world currency on in-game content).

According to ESRB’s Rating Summary, “Some accompanying song lyrics contain the words ‘damn’ and ‘hell.’”

The E for Everyone rating signals to parents that the game is like appropriate for all ages from a content perspective. But that does not extend to a game’s minute-to-minute gameplay. Some elements of Forza Horizon 6 may be challenging for younger players, so it’s a good idea to do a little extra research if you’re still curious.

Where Can I Play Forza Horizon 6 and How Much Does It Cost?

Forza Horizon 6 is available on Xbox Series X|S, and PC, starting at $69.99 for the Standard Edition of the game. A PlayStation 5 release is expected to release later in 2026. In addition to the Standard Edition, two more versions of the game are also available:

• The Forza Horizon 6 Deluxe Edition is $99.99 and includes:
  • Forza Horizon 6
  • Forza Horizon 6 Car Pass – 30 additional cars with one new car added to your in-game garage every week starting on release.
  • Forza Horizon 6 Welcome Pack – access to five Car Vouchers to trade for new cars and three tickets to redeem “Common” or “Rare” clothing items for your avatar.
• The Forza Horizon 6 Premium Edition is $119.99 and includes:
  • Everything in the previous editions
  • Access to two future expansions for Forza Horizon 6
  • Forza Horizon 6 VIP – a permanent ticket providing access to boosts to race rewards, three exclusive cars, an in-game house (with a customizable garage), and more.
  • Forza Horizon 6 Time Attack Car Pack – Eight additional cars tuned for use in the game’s Time Attack Circuits.
  • Forza Horizon 6 Italian Passion Car Pack – four Italian cars to add to the in-game garage.

As mentioned, Forza Horizon 6 also includes the ability to spend real-world currency on cars, emotes, cosmetic items, and more. Make sure you activate parental controls around spending to block your kids from purchasing new games or in-game purchases without permission.

In addition to purchasing Forza Horizon 6 individually, you and your family can also download it with a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Xbox Game Pass is a tiered service that comes at varied prices offering different features, though the Ultimate tier ($22.99/month) is the only one that provides access to brand new first-party Xbox games. The “Premium” tier promises to add first-party games within the first year after release.  You can find out more about Xbox Game Pass here to make the most appropriate decision for your family.

What is Forza Horizon 6 About?

Like with all Forza Horizon games, you and your kids will be dropped into an open world with the objective of becoming the best racer in the region’s Horizon Festival. Forza Horizon 6 takes place in Japan, complete with in-game representations of big cities like Tokyo, as well as more rural areas.

You and your family will start the game by entering into the Qualifiers for the Horizon Festivals as a no-name tourist. Soon, you’ll progress to the Invitational and finally land in the main Horizon Festival. As you and your kids progress through the story, you’ll earn access to new races, faster cars, new events, and more.

How Does Forza Horizon 6 Play?

Forza Horizon 6 is broken up into two main styles of play: the Campaign and Discover Japan.

Campaign

As a racing game a lot of the core gameplay in the Campaign portion of Forza Horizon 6 revolves around participating in racing events. The parameters of races vary, meaning you’ll have to pick certain cars depending upon whether the event in question is a Dirt, Road, or Cross Country race.

Winning the traditional races allows you and your kids to rise through the ranks, eventually earning access to Wristbands. These are essentially keys to unlock the next phase of the Campaign, complete with more challenging races and events. But they also allow access to more vehicles and customization options through the game. While racing may be the most straightforward way to rank up, there are other methods too.

You may stumble across a stretch of road asking you to drive as fast as you can, or another challenging you and your kids to drift as much as possible on a specific stretch of road. Participating in these more open-ended events not only helps progress to the next Wristband, but also earns earn XP (experience points). With enough XP, you’ll level up and get access to Wheelspins and Super Wheelspins to win credits, cars, cosmetics for your cars and in-game avatar, and more.

Eventually, you and your family will get invited to “Wristband Events” as a challenge to earn the next Wristband and progress through the campaign. Once you earn all seven available Wristbands you’ll be granted the title of Horizon Legend with access to the most challenging races and events in the game.

Discover Japan

Having been to Japan a few years ago, I’ve not gone a single day without wanting to go back. My wife and I fell in love with the food, the vibes, the public transportation, the 7/11 egg salad sandwiches (look it up, it’s a thing!)… everything. That’s a 14-hour flight… not to mention the fact that we’ve since had a child who would probably explode if we subjected him to that amount of travel. So, the prospect of driving around Japan in Forza Horizon 6 as a virtual tourist in a super-fast car is appealing!

The Discover Japan mode removes many or the more prescribed boundaries from the progression of the Campaign, allowing you to lean into a more open-ended experience. Instead of car limitations in races, you’ll be able to drive in whatever your favorite cars are, wherever you please, and earn Stamps.

There are many smaller side-modes that can help you and your family progress to unlock your next Stamp. From collecting cars, to delivering food, to competing is special Street Races… you’ll have the opportunity to really explore however you and your kids want.

You’re not locked into either mode. You and your kids can choose whichever vibes are resonating with you that day.

Keep in mind that Forza Horizon 6 does facilitate online play with others. Fortunately, there are simple parental controls to help manage this! If this is important to you and your family visit ParentalTools.org for step-by-step guides to help you activate parental controls.

How To Make Sure Your Kids Have Video Game Airbags

Safety is important in all things. And while the risks of driving in a car without airbags are far greater than those of playing a video game without any boundaries, there’s no reason not to take advantage of every resource you can make sure those experiences are fun and appropriate. And fortunately, there are a lot of them!

Unsurprisingly, I always recommend checking the ESRB ratings first. The rating information, including Rating Category, Content Descriptors, and Interactive Elements, provide a comprehensive, high-level look at what’s in a game. If you need more information before making a decision, odds are you can find previews, videos, and trailers to answer any lingering questions. In some cases, games also offer demos, which you can play yourself to see if it’s appropriate for your kids.

Forza Horizon 6 also includes the ability to spend real-world currency on cars, emotes, cosmetic items, and more.

Overall, it’s also helpful to have some household rules around video game play. Starting with an ongoing, judgement-free conversation, you can learn what your kids love about video games, and come up with rules that both satisfy their passions while making sure appropriate boundaries in place. This may include time limits for play during the week, how much money they can spend on in-game purchases or new games (if any!), whether they can play online, and more. ESRB’s Family Gaming Guide has some helpful tips, guides, and conversation starters to get the ball rolling on establishing household rules.

Fortunately, you can back these household rules up with parental controls I mentioned earlier. Virtually all devices on which you can play video games also include parental controls settings. With these, you can manage what your kids play based on the ESRB age rating, when and for how long they can play, with whom (if anyone) they can play online, and whether they can spend money on new games or in-game purchases.