Forza Horizon 6 releases in May 2026, and that will clog up websites, YouTube channels and social media for at least this month, if not next.
It’s a pivotal title for Playground Games, as it tries to prove it can still pull off a well-renowned game following restructuring. It’s equally important for publisher Microsoft, as it tries to reset its Xbox division.
If this isn’t what you’re looking forward to, however, there are plenty of other updates, DLC and even events over the next four weeks.
The Crew Motorfest RC Frenzy DLC
Release date: 6th May
Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One
The Crew Motorfest’s mammoth Season 9 update already added official NASCAR racing and a track creator in March, and now yet another update is coming this month with the release of RC Frenzy.
Included in the Year 3 Pass, the paid DLC sees you tear around Hawaii in tiny remote-control cars, with a new playlist featuring 10 events, including stunt challenges, plus a unique top-down view recalling games like MotorStorm RC.
With their ability to jump, perform air tricks and drive on water, the RC cars promise to offer a different style of driving in Ubisoft’s ever-evolving open-world racer.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown mid-season update
Release date: 6th May
Platforms: PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S
The Crew Motorfest isn’t the only open-world racer getting an update in May.
After Season 6 introduced player-voted Detective Missions to Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, a mid-season update arriving on 6th May is set to improve this mode with 15 additional missions and difficulty rebalancing.
Alongside this will be a new car in the form of the Dodge Viper SRT Coupe Freedom Rush Edition. This update will serve as a stopgap until Season 7, which will be the longest period between updates yet, as KT Racing focuses on improving the quality of future season updates.
American Truck Simulator Illinois DLC
Release date: 14th May
Platform: PC (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S later)
Never underestimate the popularity of Euro and American Truck Simulators, and the latter will release the highly anticipated Illinois expansion this month on PC.
SCS Software claims that this pack will finally complete Route 66, and the DLC will also include Chicago. Alongside this paid-for content, a Version 1.59 update is also expected imminently following a beta.
Forza Horizon 6
Release date: 19th May (early access on 15th May for Premium Edition owners)
Platforms: PC and Xbox Series X|S
You knew about this already, right? Everything else pales into insignificance compared to Microsoft’s gargantuan open-world driving game, now set in Japan. The aforementioned The Crew Motorfest and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown will have some serious competition.
Its predecessors were so popular that they effectively propped up Xbox, a stand-out hit in a line-up of also-rans.
In our hands-on preview, we felt that – Tokyo aside – the environment was the best yet for a Horizon title, but it felt hollow without the full gamut of events, challenges and hidden items. Well, that should change when the full Forza Horizon 6 game hits PC and Xbox consoles this month. PlayStation 5 will follow later this year.
Taxi Chaos 2 physical release
Release date: 22nd May
Platforms: PS5 and Nintendo Switch
Following its digital release in February, Taxi Chaos 2 is getting a physical release on PS5 and Nintendo Switch (the game never received a native Switch 2 release) on 22nd May, courtesy of Curveball Games.
On the surface, it looks like a typical Crazy Taxi clone, but its futuristic setting, where you play the role of a human taxi driver competing against self-driving taxibots, puts a unique spin on the taxi driving genre. A new split-screen mode is also coming to PlayStation and Xbox on 21st May.
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds Arle of Puyo Puyo
Release date: 27th May
Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2
Sonic: CrossWorlds’ roster will expand with another free addition, with Puyo Puyo’s Arle joining the character list on 27th May. This is the last confirmed free character, but more free and paid DLC is expected in Q2 and Q3 2026.
007 First Light
Release date: 29th May
Platforms: PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (Nintendo Switch 2 later)
James Bond games are finally back, with 007 First Light marking the secret agent’s first video game outing since 2012’s maligned 007 Legends.
Developed by Hitman maker IO Interactive, it tells an original origin story where you play as a younger Bond as an MI6 recruit. Alongside stealth sections and gunfights, the game will feature action-packed driving missions, including a high-speed car chase where you drive a classic Aston Martin DBS Vantage in a nod to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
The manufacturer’s plug-in hybrid supercar, the Valhalla, will also appear in the game and will surely be joined by the world-famous DB5.
Rennsport’s ‘May’ update and Endurance DLC
Release date: TBC May
Platforms: PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S
Tentative, this one. A significant free update, with a new car and track, plus the first paid-for DLC pack for Rennsport, should already be with us. The likes of the Porsche 956 and GT1, Mercedes-Benz CLK LM, Peugeot 9X8, plus the Le Mans venue were expected in March.
Then April came, and they still weren’t here. Now this update, which will also include some graphical changes and a handful of fresh livery designs, is pencilled in for sometime in May. Hopefully.
It all relates to a change from Nacon as console publisher to Rennsport (Competition Company) itself. Until that is resolved, as a cross-platform title, all updates are stuck in a state of flux.
Sim Racing events
Alongside new games, DLC packs and updates, there is also plenty to participate in, watch or visit too, this month.
SimRacing Expo Charlotte
The first SimRacing Expo in the United States, the popular European event spreads its wings across the Atlantic this year. That means the traditional German event remains later this year, now in Frankfurt, but is joined by the inaugural effort in Charlotte.
Taking place between 22nd and 24th May, over 30 exhibitors will be in the 100,000+ square feet venue. These will include hardware manufacturers such as Fanatec, Heusinkveld, Thrustmaster and PXN. There will also be software developers, such as RaceRoom, Project Motor Racing and iRacing, hopefully showcasing interactive competitions or possible new content.
iRacing special events
iRacing’s genre-defining mass-participation multiplayer races have a very busy May. It begins with the Nürburgring 24h across the first weekend, and then, as it’s ‘The Month of May’, there’s not one, but two (fixed and open setup) Indy 500 Special Events.
Then, it keeps going, with the World 600 (née Coca Cola 600) NASCAR race, and concludes with the second-ever 4 Hours at Thruxton touring car race.
DTM Esports
The DTM’s sim racing competition returns for 2026, with a mix of virtual and in-person (finale) races using RaceRoom.
It all kicked off right at the start of the month, 2nd May, with the Pre-Show Event, before the first round at the end, on the 30th.
This year, RaceRoom’s native ranked multiplayer system will be used, which means for the first time, multiple splits for each round. What remains is a healthy prize pool, this time worth €75,000 (with a real-world GT4 test for the champion) and live broadcasts of each round – even on Traxion!
Unconfirmed
That’s the games, content and events we are certain will happen in May, but there are some other elements which we think could happen, but aren’t confirmed yet.
Formula Legends, for example, did issue a roadmap that indicates some further track DLC may be on the way, and its online multiplayer mode is now overdue.
More often than not, Gran Turismo 7 has a free update towards the end of the month, as it did in April, and this time last year, we were on the EA SPORTS F1 25 hype train ahead of a 30th May launch. Could the 2026-season DLC for that title hit this month?
Finally, JDM: Japanese Drift Master has been teasing further American Classics DLC for this quarter.