The highly anticipated setting for *Forza Horizon 6* is a beautifully rendered, romanticized Japan, and if the recent Xbox Developer Direct is any indication, developer Playground Games is ready to fully embrace the country’s rich pop culture, specifically its iconic anime heritage. Leading the charge is the brand-new feature revealed during the stream: the Touge Battle mode, a clear and undeniable homage to the cult-classic street-racing franchise, *Initial D*.
Touge Battle, as described by the studio, consists of high-stakes, competitive nighttime races held on narrow, twisting Japanese mountain passes. To truly capture the spirit of the source material, the accompanying gameplay footage featured the legendary Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86—the signature car of *Initial D*’s protagonist—expertly drifting around tight hairpin turns, cementing the tribute to the genre-defining manga.
However, the anime influence may extend far beyond mountain drifting. The presentation featured a curious and fleeting glimpse of what appeared to be a massive, full-sized Gundam mech. Given the *Horizon* series’ history of integrating spectacular and often ridiculous Showcase races, don’t be shocked if players find themselves competing against a skyscraper-sized robot in a future event. *Forza Horizon 6* seems poised to deliver a unique blend of authentic Japanese car culture and blockbuster animated spectacle.