Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 Broadcast live - Forza Horizon 6 and a Gungrave remake lead the show

Shall we just pretend that Forza Horizon 6 wasn't leaked early? Just for laughs and to make this whole live blog worth doing?

Good morning! Look at this - a morning liveblog. A rarity these days.

Let's see what the people want.

Gremkarc says: Maybe some more PSVR2 games? ;D

Outside of that, I'd wish for more Fable, and if it was going to appear at TGS it would probably be through a Peter Rabbit pastiche or something...

PSVR2 games? There's probably a better chance of that here than last night.

Yowch!

BlueLiving says: A multiplatform Forza Horizon 6 is going to be absolutely huge now.

Indeed! If it's a simultaneous multiplatform release. I feel as though Microsoft's Game Pass 'get it included' deal might be a strong enough deal to ensure that it is a simultaneous release, but we still might see some sort of timed Xbox exclusivity here.

Bertie, come on! I made a deal that we were going to pretend Forza hadn't leaked...

Who's excited for a potential Forza Horizon 6 reveal?

Oops! Sorry Tom!

Say it with me, as we might as well try: "Fable, Fable, Fable, Fable, Fable."

Leaky leaky: Forza Horizon 6 will be set in Japan

Surprise! Look away now Tom. Forza Horizon 6 will be set in Japan. Microsoft's marketing department blurted out the news ahead of time via adverts on Instagram, which aired a short trailer.

• Forza Horizon 6 will be set exactly where we expected it to be set

There are some captured videos of the adverts floating around, if you want to see them. I won't post them here for fear of spoiling the reveal even further. It's like unwrapping your Christmas presents before the big day.

I will be very excited to see anything at all of Fable 4. That game's development worries me. But that series excites me greatly.

Don't read the post just now from Bertie or the news story he links to.

Just under 10 minutes to go

Time is ticking down. We're nearly there.

Anecdotally, I don't remember a Tokyo Game Show in recent years that's been so exciting, or so notable in terms of broadcasts and events. I also don't recall Xbox having a presence there at all. Evidently, it has a vested interest with Forza Horizon 6 being set in Japan, but I wonder if opening up publishing on PlayStation 5 has also emboldened it there, given it a purpose, of sorts.

How do the beats in the holding video compare to the Wipeout-esque tunes from State of Play last night?

iceytoa1 says: Forza Horizon 6? Pfff, I don't see it coming, not in amillion years, and if it was, it'd definitely be set in Iceland... Japan, no way! (Am I doing it right Tom?)

This is the way, people. Be strong.

FTJT says: FH6 stands for 'Fable Happening in 6 months'

I'd hope so. It is apparently due in six months but that would land it near GTA, which probably wouldn't be wise. I also worry that it's stuck in some kind of development hell and will actually take much longer to wait. Wait too long, though, and you risk going up against The Witcher 4!

The Xbox show begins

The timer is ticking down, we're nearly there. 10 seconds... Let's go!

Right, come on Xbox, show us Forza Horizon 6!

And we're off. Lots of 18 age ratings there.

Here's Phil Spencer, head of Xbox. He's looking thin. I wonder if he cross-fits. That seems to be all the rage these days.

He's talking about having "unwavering" commitment to Japan and the broader Asian region. Really? I thought they'd given up on Japan and Asia. But appparently not.

Another Gungrave?

Gungrave remake starts the show

We're going to see new titles from "legendary" Japanese studios, apparently.

A fully rebuilt entry in a fan-favourite series that got its start in Japan will kick us off.

What is it what is it? It looks like Devil May Cry. There's a leather-clad hero with a huge gun contraption thing on his back, and two guns, blasting everything in sight. Third-person action.

Here's a muscular blue horde of enemies charging him.

But this hero has black hair. It's not Dante.

Gungrave Gore Blood Heat, I think it's called. Dodgy logo font.

I think I'm going to suspect every game of being Devil May Cry from here on out.

James Bond section now. This is IOI's 007: First Light, which looks enormously promising. Oh but that section whizzes by without much bluster.

Onto fighting specialists Arc System Works now.

Is this the Double Dragon remake?

It's not Devil May Cry, is it? Stop it, Bertie, stop it.

It's a side-scrolling beat-'em-up, whatever it is, and I can get on with that. It looks *a lot* like Double Dragon.

It is Double Dragon. Coming 23rd October, a day before my birthday. Double Dragon: Revive, it's called.

Hmm, Double Dragon footage isn't great. But I played through the original on an Atari ST with my best friend, so I'm hyped.

Koei Tecmo now. You know, I wish Koei and Bandai would stop swapping the order of their company name around. I can never remember what it is.

We're seeing more of the Fatal Frame 2/Project Zero 2 remake now. The game where you take photos of ghosts in spooky places. This is a remake of a near 20-year-old game. I wish someone would remake me in 20 years.

It's not just a visual refresh, we're being told, but a gameplay one, too. It does tap into a topic that I find fascinating in games which is their technical wrappers. So many great ideas are restricted by the age of the tech that powered them, such that they often get lost in time. But are they welded to the time they were released in more than that? Is it enough to just update their machine-innards for a new audience and have them hit in the same way?

It's a thinker.

Where's the Fatal Frame game built around using those doorbell cameras? Fatal (single) Frame, maybe?

The Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly remake is coming in early 2026.

PokePal?

I don't think that Crimson Butterfly date or its existence is anything new, by the way.

We're onto a cutesy-looking game called Animo, now, which flitters by in a trailer of little consequence.

And now we're into historical straetgy. This is the section of the broadcast that highlights some smaller interesting things but that aren't necessarily exciting enough to make a headline.

This is peak showcase!

Sudden Strike 5 coming 2026

Hearts of Iron. That's what this probably is. No! Suden Strike 5, coming in 2026. Alix, who works on our video team, is a huge fan of Sudden Strike. He'll hate me for talking down about it.

I'll give it a headline entry just to appease him. Happy, Alix?

No, this is peak showcase!

Fallout 76 slot here. It's just a word from the team about their recent update. Nothing of particular note.

Day One with Game Pass now.

Capcom...

It's a Breath of the Wild-coloured action RPG with dragon riding. It's Monster Hunter Stories 3.

"The story of rider and rathalos starts here."

I remember getting killed a lot by a rathalos, or is it Rathalos, in Monster Hunter World.

Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2 are also coming to Xbox One on 14th November.

Hitman Bruce Lee mission out today

Hitman, now, it looks like. And we're getting Bruce Lee! You have to look after him and interact with him. That update is out today.

Sarah Bond now bigging up how important Asia is to Xbox. She's talking about the Asus Ally handheld that's coming out later this year. I wonder how popular devices like this are in Japan and Asia. It launches 16th October.

A new reveal now for a game that's launching tomorrow.

A kaleidescope of colour. It's Swery's Hotel Barcelona.

I've met Swery. He's very nice, and his games are wonderfully eccentric.

This is a lighthearted look at the game with Swery overlaid on the video, playing the game himself. It's a side-scrolling combat game where you have other people invade your game. In this case, Suda 51, who's collaborating on the game.

Black Sabbath to end the video there (I think). RIP Ozzy!

I'm sorry, but I have zero hope Hotel Barcelona will be any good.

Still hoping for that Forza Horizon 6 reveal.

A remake of Dragon Quest 1 and 2 now, which looks charming. I get a warm fuzzy feeling seeing old games like this. It's not a particularly exciting showcase, though.

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D remake reeases 30th October.

We move on. A game from 7th Beat called Rhythm Doctor now. A arthouse rhythm action game based around timing a press of one button in time to music. But there's a cacophony of different songs in it that whip along and interchange quickly, almost in a WarioWare kind of way. It's a quick reactions thing. It's pixelated and energetic. It's coming 6th December.

Rhythm game, perhaps the highlight of the show so far.

Marinatedmonolith says: Rhythm Doctor has been in Early Access since like, forever. Glad to see it's finally getting to see the light of day.

Good to know!

Microsoft Flight Simulator spot now. A Japan-themed update. We're flying over some of the (don't crash they look historic).

The detail is impressive. There's Tokyo - goodness, Toyko sprawls. I've never been. Fly around Japan, basically. Mastmumoto Castle, there. A national park there. Lighthouses. Bridges.

Planes.

MarcusJ says: This one looks a little plane.

Nice! But also, I saw some big planes.

We're focusing a lot on a light passenger plane now. I didn't catch the make but evidently it's very important to this region. It's very shiny. Anyone ever flown a plane? Like, for real.

Microsoft Flight Sim Japan update out today

That Japan update is available today.

The Romancing SaGa remake now. We're getting a montage of the game. It's available today.

Farm! Baby animals. Kawaii anime presentation. Sheep! Little girls being best friends and helping out around the farm. Oh, and now they've grown up.

Now they're inside playing a game of designing the space they live in? That's very meta. Starsand Island, coming 1st February. Looks peaceful and colourful.

Abominations that must be eradicated? This a game about games journos? LOL, I joke, I am one of them.

Oh, here we go, dark fantasy and big beasties, and what looks like knights in metal armour and ladies wearing skimpy metal armour and no trousers.

Looks like this has some multiplayer. Lots of sword swishing and flashy abilities. Chaotic. I can't make out what's going on.

They kill the big beast.

"We will hold the line."

There's a big magical portal.

Project Evil Bane, coming 2027. I think it said something about a beta coming second half of next year.

Hi Joe.

Ninja Gaiden 4 now. We're going to get a first look at the challenges and difficulties in the game, which launches very soon, on 21st October.

Microsoft doesn't have much for this presentation, does it? No shade on Ninja Gaiden, but I mean in general. It's been quite thin so far.

Anyway, back to Ninja Gaiden 4. It's got difficulty options and assists to help. Hero mode enables auto-guard and auto-dodge, which is a nice idea, to ease you in. These assists can be toggled on and off in an accessibility menu at any time.

I like this expansion of difficulty options, so it's not just weaker and fewer enemies as we play.

Does anyone actually tweak their game in this way, though?

The true heroes are the ones who aren't good enough to play Ninja Gaiden 4. That's why it's called Hero Mode. Could have just called it "The Mode For Over 40s, like Tom".

Ninja Gaiden 4 will also have a standalone training mode, like fighting games do, or like the X-Men do, if you get that reference.

Master Ninja difficulty is the beastly choice. We're going to see some footage of it now.

There's lots of aerial attacking. Enemies are aggressive, obviously, and fast.

It is a very fast game.

Mistfall Hunter now, whatever that is. Oh! Dark fantasy action role-playing game. Mark that off your bingo card.

It's a shattered world. By that I don't think he means tired, or worn out, as we do here. You will be a Gyldhunter, which sounds much more dramatic than looking for a guild in a game like World of Warcraft, say.

We're seeing some evocative artwork here showing huge bosses and grand locations, but that's all we're seeing: artwork.

That's it. Blimey.

Mouse survival game Winter Burrow looks adorable

A cute illustrative game about a small doorouse adventuring through a winter wood now. This looks very cute! It's isometric and looks hand-drawn. It's a survival game, it looks like. Crafting and surviving against beetles and bugs. You have to venture across this wooded world to find out what's going on.

Winter Burrow, it's called, and it's coming 12th November. That looked lovely!

Terminull Brigade now - I think that's what it says; choose readable fonts you horrors! - that's coming 31st October.

That was such an Okami fake-out! That was so Amaterasu at the beginning - the two-tailed white wolf god.

But now we've moved onto a strategical war game that looks very generic. Earnest, but generic. And dated.

Age of Mythology Retold coming 30th October.

A Call of Duty Black Ops 7 slot now. We're going into Japan in the game - it's a big focus of it apparently. Near-future version of Japan. We're going to see a lot of it. The levels look nice.

Lord Viru says: Winter Burrow has been on my wish list for ages, it was announced I think at the 2024 Summer Showcase? I knew it was due this year so glad it's got a release date now, looks cozy as hell, perfect game to play next to my fiancé (or more likely I'll start it, she'll think it's looks amazing and before I know it I'm watching her play it).

Ah, well remembered!

We're seeing a lot of map details here. There's a cat cafe, a karaoke bar. But it's just snippets of parts of maps. 2035, the game is set in. You'll become very familiar with these maps through the course of playing, of course.

Black Ops 7 will have 18 maps at launch, by the way.

The multiplayer beta starts next week, on 5th October. It only runs for a few days so get in quick.

Matt Booty now, who's in charge of Xbox content. Come on, reveal something significant.

"Japan has been home to countless beloved games over the years..."

Is this the build-up to Forza Horizon 6, I wonder?

Is this it? Is it Forza time?

This is the Forza Horizon 6 trailer that was pulled down from Instagram earlier.

We're seeing licence plates with country codes on them. There's Great Britain, there's Mexico. There's... A waving cat toy and a Japanese plate. Forza Horizon 6 is set in Japan and coming 2026, as we now well know. And that's all we're seeing.

I can't believe it, people! Forza Horizon 6?! They've only gone and done it. What a surprise this is to all of us!

Forza Horizon 6 closes a very thin show

Booty is back, um, so to speak. This has been the most requested location since the first Forza Horizon game, apparently (so why didn't they do it earlier). And we'll hear more next year.

And I think that's it. Well, that was dreadful.

It felt as though Microsoft really raided the cupboards there to have a presence at Tokyo Game Show. It's a huge shame not to actually see some of Forza Horizon 6 in action besides in a very thin CGI tease.

Right, Bertie, write me 4000 words on everything we learned from that Forza Horizon 6 trailer, and you can't include the name of the game.

Shall we just all pretend the Forza Horizon 6 reveal didn't happen and then be more excited for when they show it off properly?

Okay, Tom, here goes.

I've never been to Japan but I've long wondered what it might be like. I can soar through the Japanese air in the new Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 update and look down below, but I yearn to go down further, onto the streets, in a, um, racing car of my own. How fortunate for me, then, that the new racing game in one of Xbox's most beloved arcade racing series will let me go there.

But go where, exactly? Well, we don't yet know, which raises the question of which areas in Japan will be most fun to race around. Let's look at some of them and consider...

2much says: I love cats, they're the best animal and they're always very cute, but the Xbox cat is not cute and I feel like only Microsoft could mess up making a cat cute

I kept expecting a Stray announcement every time I saw it!

Microsoft has put out a bit more information about Forza Horizon 6 on its News Wire website.

It's a guarded interview-style piece, but it does say a bit more about locations in the game.

“While we’re not announcing too much in terms of detail right now, we’re excited to show fans the true breadth of beauty – both natural and urban environments – that Japan has to offer,” explains art director Don Arceta. “From the neon lights and towering buildings of Tokyo City – one of our most detailed and layered environments to date – to the serenity and natural beauty of Japan’s rural and mountain areas, we think players will be blown away by the open world of Japan that we have built.

“And while we are not necessarily trying to recreate Japan and its environments like for like, our goal has always been to capture the country’s unique cultural essence and present it back in the most Horizon way possible.”

Carl Sheen says: So in a whole showcase they only showed 2 new GamePass games we haven't seen before, striked me as a change in focus from MS with more prominence put on Play Anywhere than GamePass today.

Given they barely showed any new games at all, I think this is a stretch. Play Anywhere makes sense for them to push as they were promoting the handheld, which leans on this in a big way.

Playground worked with cultural consultant Kyoko Yamashita to ensure it didn't biff up its take on Japan, apparently. The interview piece includes comments from Yamashita-san as well.

There's nothing much of great interest there. FH6 will have changing seasons - as we expected - and it will try to bring to life Japan's taste in cars and racing.

“In Japanese car culture, the depth and diversity is astonishing,” says Yamashita. “Kei cars and vans with cult followings, precision motorsport, drifting’s roots, and their passion for customization really stands out. It’s welcoming to different levels of enthusiasm and knowledge, which is exactly the kind of layered world I want players to feel.”

Carl Sheen says: I can walk you through the next Forza Horizon tailer if you want...

- Open with lots of Cherry Blossoms falling from trees in a peaceful street, then a car racing through blowing them all around and we pan out to show a classic Kyoto street with the iconic red Torri shrines

- Cut to Tokyo with neon lights, heavy traffic and a car Tokyo Drifting across Shibuya Crossing

- Chance to show off Fast and Furious style car customisations as well with under body neon etc.

- Then we cut to the mountains outside Tokyo with cars Touge Drifitng down the mountains

- Finish on a shot of Mount Fuji with cars racing off road up the side Pan out to the Forza Horizon 6 logo

Perfect!

Well, that's it for us and the Xbox TGS briefing. It wasn't great but there were a couple of notable announcements in there. Also, it was nice to see Microsoft try, however thin the output eventually was. Does this mean Microsoft will try again in years to come - is it a declaration of intent? Or is it a one-off because Microsoft wanted to announce that Forza Horizon 6 will be set in Japan?

We shall see.