Forza Horizon 6 is already becoming an absolute monster for Playground Games and Xbox, breaking franchise player records before the game has even officially launched worldwide.
Despite currently being available only through Early Access, the latest Horizon entry has already more than doubled the Steam peak player count of Forza Horizon 5.
Forza Horizon 6 Already Breaking Steam Records
According to Steam player tracking data spotted by GamesRadar, Forza Horizon 6 has already reached an all-time Steam peak of:
- 172,093 concurrent players
That number absolutely dwarfs previous entries in the series.
Previous Steam Peaks
- Forza Horizon 6 — 172,093
- Forza Horizon 5 — 81,096
- Forza Horizon 4 — 75,689
- Forza Motorsport — 4,703
What makes the achievement even crazier is the fact that Forza Horizon 6 has not fully launched yet.
Right now, only players who purchased:
- the Premium Edition,
- the $120 bundle,
- or the Game Pass Premium Upgrade
…can access the game early.
The full global launch arrives on May 19, meaning player numbers could climb significantly higher very soon.
Japan Setting Clearly Paying Off
One of the biggest reasons behind the massive player surge is likely the game’s long-awaited Japan setting.
For years, Japan has easily been the most requested location in Horizon community discussions, and Playground Games finally delivering on that demand has generated enormous excitement around the release.
The game’s recreation of Japan has already been heavily praised for:
- mountain roads,
- neon-lit cities,
- countryside routes,
- drifting locations,
- and overall visual atmosphere.
Reviews Have Also Been Extremely Strong
The massive player numbers are also being fueled by outstanding review scores.
Forza Horizon 6 currently sits around:
- 91-92 Metacritic
- 91 OpenCritic
…making it one of the highest-rated games of 2026 so far.
Several major outlets awarded perfect scores, including:
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma even publicly congratulated Playground Games following the game’s review success.
PC Version Getting Huge Praise for Graphics Settings
Beyond gameplay itself, the PC version is also receiving praise for one surprisingly overlooked feature: its graphics settings.
Forza Horizon 6 introduces a new Live Preview system that allows players to instantly preview graphical changes directly within gameplay without needing to:
- restart the game,
- reload areas,
- or stare at tiny comparison images.
Every graphical setting updates dynamically in real time while playing, regardless of:
- weather,
- time of day,
- or current location.
Honestly, it’s the kind of feature that probably should become standard in modern PC gaming.
Forza Horizon 6 Reviews Are In — Playground Games Delivers Another Racing Masterpiece
Xbox Might Have Its Biggest Game of the Year Before GTA 6
With GTA 6 still months away, Forza Horizon 6 has suddenly become one of the gaming industry’s biggest active releases right now.
And considering the game hasn’t even fully launched yet… these numbers are kind of ridiculous already.
