Forza Horizon 6 Is the Most Played Early Access Title in Series History, Says Xbox

Forza Horizon 6 has become the biggest early access launch in series history, Microsoft has confirmed. The open-world racing title, which released in early access on PC and Xbox to rave reviews last week, is yet to fully launch, but has attracted over 180,000 players on Steam. Forza Horizon 6 is also the highest-rated game of 2026 so far.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Sunday that Playground Games' newest racing title was the most played early access game in series history. The Xbox boss did not reveal player numbers — the game hasn't fully launched yet — but a quick look at SteamDB tells us that Forza Horizon 6 is a hit on PC.

Forza Horizon 6 a Hit on Steam Before Full Launch

Within three days of early access launch, the game has raced to an all-time peak of 181,775 concurrent players on Steam, according to SteamDB charts. That number is going to rise by lot when Forza Horizon 6 releases on May 19.

The numbers are even more impressive considering it costs a whopping $120 to play Forza Horizon 6 four days early. Early access was only available to players who pre-ordered the Premium edition of the game (priced at $120); Standard and Deluxe editions, priced $70 and $100, respectively, will be available at launch on Thursday.

And these player numbers are just from Steam. Early Access players on Xbox Series S/X will likely form a big chunk of users exploring Japan in Forza Horizon 6 right now. Just on Steam alone, based on concurrent player numbers, the racing title has generated $21 million in revenue.

Forza Horizon 6's critical reception has been stellar, as well. It is the highest rated game of 2026 so far with a Metacritic score of 92 and an OpenCritic rating of 91. This is the fourth Forza Horizon game in the row to get a 90+ Metacritic score. Sharma congratulated developer Playground Games for the feat and called it “exceptionally rare”.

“Massive congrats to @WeArePlayground for delivering four consecutive 90+ games, an exceptionally rare accomplishment in this industry,” the Xbox chief said on X.

Forza Horizon 6 launched in early access on PC and Xbox Series S/X on May 15. The Japan-set open-world racer will get a full release on May 19. It will also be available on Xbox Game Pass starting Tuesday.