Forza Horizon 6's release date might have been revealed early, and it's allegedly coming sooner than anticipated

A new Developer Direct stream from Xbox is happening next week, and with it we'll get a "deep dive" into Forza Horizon 6. This is the previously announced next entry in the open-world driving series, which will take us to Japan. However, a surprise may have been spoiled early.

Via user XBOX INFINITE on X/Twitter (hat tip to Xbox Era), we've received what could be the first look at an in-game promotion of Forza Horizon 6 and its pre-order bonuses. When asked about the screenshot, the user claims they got the pop-up after exiting their garage in Forza Horizon 5.

The pop-up is placed on top of new art showcasing one of the stunning environments we can expect to visit during the next Horizon Festival. Pre-orders allegedly include an extra vehicle: "Pre-order now and get a pre-tuned and exclusive Ferrari J50 in Forza Horizon 6!"

There's also the promise of "over 550 real-world cars" at launch and the largest open-world in the series yet, with the Premium Edition adding Early Access (on 15th May, thus making the regular release date 19th May), VIP Membership, Welcome Pack, Car Pass, Time Attack Car Pack, and a post-launch Italian Passion Car Pack plus two Premium Expansions. It's all believable if you've been paying attention to past entries and their DLC offerings.

Xbox and Playground Games haven't confirmed or denied anything yet, but it wouldn't be the first time an in-game pop-up in previous games has revealed what's next in a series, so I'm personally leaning towards someone having pressed a button way too early. Oops.

Forza Horizon 6 is currently set to release exclusively on Xbox Series X/S and PC (Xbox and Steam), but a PS5 port at some point is likely, since its predecessor has already sold over 5m copies on Sony's console.