Forza Horizon 6 is not just the best-reviewed racing game of 2026 — it is the highest-earning first-party release of the year, full stop.

Fresh estimates put the game at roughly $579.2 million in gross revenue across Xbox and Steam, a figure that reportedly leaves it nearly $386 million ahead of the next contender. That makes it the biggest first-party earner released by either Microsoft or Sony in 2026, and it did it before the PlayStation 5 version even exists.

The Numbers Behind It

The commercial run started early. A month before launch, pre-orders on Steam alone had passed 500,000 copies — close to $30 million — and that was before anyone could play it.

Once it opened:

  • 172,093 concurrent players on Steam during early access — a franchise record, more than double Forza Horizon 5’s peak
  • 6 million players by May 21, two days after launch
  • 300,000 concurrent players on Steam by May 24, landing it inside Steam’s all-time top 60

Critics matched the commercial performance. Metacritic sits at 90 on both PC and Xbox Series X|S, OpenCritic reports 100% of critics recommend it, and IGN gave it a 10/10.

Why It Worked

The short answer is Japan. Playground Games had been asked for a Japan setting for over a decade and finally had the hardware to do it properly — Forza Horizon 6 is the first entry built exclusively for ninth-generation hardware, with no Xbox One holding it back.

The map is the series’ largest, and Tokyo is described as its most complex drivable space: five times larger than the urban areas in previous games, with recognisable districts like Shibuya Crossing and Tokyo Tower. Seasonal changes matter mechanically, from cherry blossom season to snowbound mountain passes.

The team hired cultural consultant Kyoko Yamashita and travelled to Japan to research car culture firsthand, which shows up in the Daikoku car meets and touge events. It launched with over 550 cars.

A Rough Launch Week

It was not entirely smooth. On May 10, nine days before release, Steam preload files went live unencrypted — 155 GB of playable game, which was promptly cracked and shared. Playground Games acknowledged the leak and issued bans.

Post-launch, players pushed back hard on Drivatar difficulty. One AI driver, “bowie knife99,” became notorious for erratic, aggressive behaviour and turned into a genuine internet meme, referenced by Xbox and even Major League Baseball on social media. Playground responded with a blog post addressing AI difficulty and other fixes.

What Comes Next

The PlayStation 5 version arrives January 26, 2027 (January 21 for Premium Flair), ported by Panic Button, with a physical disc release also reported. If the Xbox and Steam numbers are any indication, that is a substantial second wave of revenue for a game that has already won the year.

Worth noting too: Turn 10 Studios ended active development on Forza Motorsport to focus entirely on Horizon 6 — a clear signal about where Xbox sees its racing future.