3 sources Sep 10 Updated
HORI and Hino Motors Develop Driving School Simulator for TGS 2026
HORI announced on September 10 that it will commercialize a full-scale driving school simulator developed with Hino Motors, and will exhibit it at Tokyo Game Show 2026, which runs from September 17 to 21.
Reporting from 3 sources: Automaton, GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.
Why it matters
HORI built its business on game peripherals, and this product moves its hardware into professional driver training, a market segment the cluster ties to foreign worker licensing demand.
Key Facts
- HORI announced on September 10 that it will commercialize a driving school simulator developed with Hino Motors.
- The simulator will be exhibited at Tokyo Game Show 2026, held from September 17 to 21.
- The two product versions are JAPAN DRIVER TRAINING SIMULATOR for ordinary automobiles and JAPAN TRUCK DRIVING SIMULATOR for large vehicles.
- The simulator covers standard cars, medium 4-ton trucks, 10-ton trucks, towing vehicles, and buses.
- Pricing for the simulator has not been announced.
Two versions are planned: JAPAN DRIVER TRAINING SIMULATOR for ordinary automobiles and JAPAN TRUCK DRIVING SIMULATOR for large vehicles. The vehicles covered run from standard cars to medium 4-ton trucks, 10-ton trucks, towing vehicles, and buses. Hino Motors supplied vehicle data and engine sound sampling for the 3DCG reproduction of training vehicles. The simulator reproduces left-side driving practice based on Japanese traffic rules, and the course of the practical skills contest for truck drivers. HORI says it planned the product in response to the expansion of the specified skilled foreign worker program into the automobile transportation field. Pricing has not been announced.
Development also involved Hanyu Motor School, a designated driving school in Saitama Prefecture with strengths in logistics driver education, and Tetra Shift Co., Ltd., a startup that develops driving education content for foreign nationals.
- JAPAN DRIVER TRAINING SIMULATOR: ordinary automobile version.
- JAPAN TRUCK DRIVING SIMULATOR: large-vehicle version.
The hardware comes in two forms: a three-screen cabinet that reproduces the driver's seat, and a compact notebook PC type. The steering wheel has force feedback and vibration reproduction, covering road surface vibration and the reactive force when turning curves. HORI says users can practice contest skills without securing a practice location or vehicle.
Three training tools are built in: a replay function for reviewing drives afterward, an around-view window for checking vehicle behavior, and a ranking function that scores accuracy and time per task. Vehicle behavior such as the inner wheel difference and overhang of large vehicles is reproduced.
HORI's predecessor was Hori Electric Works, founded in 1967, and the company makes gamepads and arcade sticks for fighting games. Both simulators will be playable at the HORI booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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