The GOTY conversation has a new entry. A recent gaming podcast episode spent a significant portion of its runtime debating whether Forza Horizon 6 has what it takes to compete for Game of the Year honours, with hosts Jordan Middler and Chris Scullion weighing the game's potential against this year's other contenders.
The timing matters: just days before the podcast aired, fresh hands-on impressions described Forza Horizon 6 as "on track to be another exceptional open-world racer," giving the hosts concrete material to work with. That preview set expectations high, and the podcast discussion ran with that momentum.
What the hands-on impressions actually said
Early preview coverage positions Forza Horizon 6 as another strong entry from Playground Games, the studio that's helmed the series since Horizon 2. The "exceptional open-world racer" descriptor is the kind of language that tends to stick through the pre-release cycle and resurface during awards season.
Context that often gets overlooked: the Forza Horizon series has never claimed a major GOTY award at The Game Awards, despite consistently appearing in year-end discussions. Horizon 5 earned widespread praise at launch in 2021 but ultimately lost to It Takes Two. The real question is whether this entry can finally break through that ceiling.
The hands-on impressions for Forza Horizon 6 went live on April 9, 2026, one day before the podcast episode aired, making them the most current preview available.
The other stories in the mix
Forza Horizon 6 wasn't the only topic on the episode. Middler and Scullion also discussed Sony scanning a real player into Gran Turismo 7 as part of PlayStation's new Playerbase program, a story that straddles the line between fan service and marketing experiment. The troubled return of James Pond, the 90s platformer parody character whose trademark filing has reportedly drawn opposition from the James Bond IP holder, also made the cut.
Pokemon Champions rounded out the episode's main topics, with discussion focused on what the competitive Pokemon title signals for the franchise's direction.
What stands out is the framing: Forza Horizon 6 isn't just being positioned as a solid racing game, but as a legitimate awards contender worth monitoring. That framing shapes how the game gets covered from now until launch.
Why this podcast conversation carries weight
Coverage of Forza Horizon 6 has been extensive, with 33 articles published on the game at the time of writing. When a publication tracking a game that closely starts floating GOTY questions this early, it suggests the hands-on impressions were strong enough to justify that level of optimism.
Reports also surfaced this week that Forza Horizon 6 is getting its own limited edition Xbox wireless controller and headset, indicating Microsoft views this as a flagship release rather than a standard sequel. Hardware tie-ins of that scale typically accompany games the publisher expects to perform at the top of the sales charts.
You can catch the full episode on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Music. For more coverage of Forza Horizon 6 as release approaches, keep an eye on our latest gaming news.
