Every Forza Horizon Game: From Colorado to Japan
Few gaming franchises have managed to make driving feel like a genuine holiday. Forza Horizon, developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios, has been doing exactly that since 2012. It is one of the crown jewels of the Xbox library, a series that consistently raises the bar for open-world racing games on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Game Pass. With six mainline entries now in the books, there has never been a better time to look back at how the Horizon Festival became one of gaming's most beloved institutions.
Whether you are new to the series, a returning player wondering where to start, or a collector who wants to display every entry on your wall, here is your complete guide to all six Forza Horizon games.
Forza Horizon (2012) — Colorado, Xbox 360
The original Forza Horizon launched on 23 October 2012, exclusively for Xbox 360, developed by Playground Games alongside Turn 10 Studios. It was a bold concept: take the simulation underpinnings of Forza Motorsport and drop them into a sprawling open world built around a music and racing festival. Set across a fictionalised version of Colorado, the game had players competing in circuit races, off-road rally, and point-to-point sprints on temporarily closed public roads.
It was rougher around the edges than what came after, but the DNA was immediately compelling. Over 200 cars, a genuine sense of freedom, and a festival atmosphere that made it feel unlike anything else on the platform. The game was rated PEGI 12, the only entry in the entire Forza franchise to receive that rating. It remains a piece of Xbox history, even if digital copies are now impossible to find.
Forza Horizon 2 (2014) — Southern Europe, Xbox One / Xbox 360
Released on 30 September 2014, Forza Horizon 2 moved the action from Colorado to Southern France and Northern Italy, covering areas including Provence, Liguria and the Côte d'Azur. The map was roughly three times the size of its predecessor, and the leap in visual quality on Xbox One was immediately striking.
FH2 introduced fully dynamic weather to the Forza franchise for the first time, with rain, fog and wind directly affecting driving physics and visibility. It also brought the Drivatar AI system across from Forza Motorsport 5, and introduced Bucket Lists and barrier-free cross-country events that would become series staples. A defining entry, and one that set the template for everything that followed.
Forza Horizon 3 (2016) — Australia, Xbox One / PC
Forza Horizon 3 launched on 27 September 2016 for Xbox One and Windows 10, becoming the first Forza title to support Xbox Play Anywhere cross-play between the two platforms. The setting was Australia, and Playground Games made full use of it. Desert outbacks, dense rainforests, and the stunning coastline around Byron Bay all featured, with the car roster expanding to 350 vehicles including off-road buggies and trophy trucks.
For the first time, players took on the role of Horizon Festival director rather than a competitor, recruiting fans and growing the event across Australia. The Horizon Blueprint system also debuted here, letting players customise events and share them with others. Many fans still regard FH3 as the series peak. The Australian backdrop gave it a personality no entry before or since has quite matched.
Forza Horizon 4 (2018) — Britain, Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S / PC
Forza Horizon 4 brought the festival home in the most literal sense possible. Set across a beautifully recreated Britain, the map covered Edinburgh, the Cotswolds, and vast stretches of Lake District countryside. It introduced the series' defining mechanical addition: dynamic seasons. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter rotated on a weekly real-world cycle, fundamentally changing how roads, off-road terrain, and water behaved. A frozen lake in winter became a race circuit. The same stretch of countryside flooded come spring.
The seasonal system alone made FH4 one of the most replayable open-world games on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Optimised for the newer hardware with faster load times and performance upgrades, it remained a live title for years and is still considered one of the best racing games ever made.
Forza Horizon 5 (2021) — Mexico, Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / PC
Forza Horizon 5 took the series to Mexico in 2021, introducing more immersive volumetric weather effects and a landscape that stretched from active volcanic peaks to ancient jungle temples to sweeping desert highways. The map was larger than any previous entry and the visual fidelity on Xbox Series X was the best the genre had seen.
FH5 leaned hard into its biome variety. One minute you were drifting through a dust storm on a dirt road, the next screaming down a coastal highway with the Pacific on one side and jungle on the other. The car roster ran to over 500 vehicles at launch, with regular seasonal updates and expansions keeping the playerbase active for years. It sold in extraordinary numbers and introduced the series to a whole new generation of Xbox and PC Game Pass subscribers.
Forza Horizon 6 (2026) — Japan, Xbox Series X|S / PC / Steam
Forza Horizon 6 launched on 19 May 2026 for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, with a PlayStation 5 release to follow later in the year. The setting is Japan, and it is arguably the most technically ambitious entry the series has produced. The open world map is the largest in franchise history, with the Tokyo City area described as the most complex drivable space the series has ever built.
Players begin as a tourist rather than an established racer, working their way up through the Horizon Invitational before earning wristbands and rising through the ranks to become a Horizon Legend. The car roster features over 550 vehicles, and new acoustic modelling technology means every engine sounds better than ever before. The game reached six million players within two days of launch and set a Steam concurrent player record for the franchise. Early signs suggest FH6 is another series high-water mark.
Got a steelbook copy of FH, FH3 or FH4?
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