Zero reviews. Zero players. Half a million copies already sold.

Forza Horizon 6 currently sits at #2 on Steam’s Top Sellers chart — a full month before anyone can actually play it. According to estimates from Alinea Analytics, Playground Games’ upcoming open-world racer has pre-sold over 500,000 copies on Steam alone, generating nearly $30 million in revenue before a single car leaves the starting line.

This isn’t hype built on mystery. Players know exactly what they’re buying. The map reveal, preview embargoes, and first gameplay footage dropped on April 8, and the momentum only accelerated from there. When Playground published the achievement list on April 13, the game moved 22,000 Steam copies in a single day — its best daily haul since 50,000 buyers piled in the moment pre-orders went live.

The wishlist count tells an even louder story: 3.3 million and climbing on Steam alone.

A Franchise That Keeps Winning

Forza Horizon has quietly become one of the most reliable properties in all of gaming. Its predecessor, 2021’s Forza Horizon 5, is approaching 54 million players across all platforms, according to Alinea Analytics. The breakdown is telling: 74% of that player base came through the Xbox ecosystem, largely driven by day-one Game Pass inclusion. Steam accounted for about 15% — the premium PC audience willing to pay full freight. The PlayStation 5 port, which only arrived a year ago, already represents 11% of total players.

Now consider what that means for Forza Horizon 6. The PS5 version launches later this year. The Steam pre-order numbers are already eclipsing every previous entry in the series before launch day. Alinea Analytics projects that, based on comparable sequel trajectories, Horizon 6 could clear 2 million units on Steam within its first 24 hours.

This is what franchise dominance looks like.

The Japan Factor

Part of the pre-launch fire is the setting. Forza Horizon 6 drops players into a fictionalized Japan — a location fans have requested since the Xbox 360 era. The open world is the largest in franchise history, headlined by a stylized Tokyo that Playground describes as five times larger than any city the series has built before.

The setting is also cracking open new markets. China, already the #2 Steam market for Forza Horizon 5, has a massive appetite for Japanese car culture and is mirroring that demand for Horizon 6. Meanwhile, approximately 6% of Steam wishlists are coming from Japan itself — a share far higher than any previous Forza Horizon title, per Alinea Analytics.

$69.99 and Nobody’s Blinking

Forza Horizon 6 launches at $69.99 / €69.99 — the current-gen standard that still draws grumbles in other franchises. No grumbling here, apparently. Half a million pre-orders at that price point suggest the audience considers it fair value for over 550 licensed cars, the series’ largest open world, a dynamic seasonal weather system, ray-traced global illumination on PC, and a progression arc that starts players as tourists grinding their way into the Horizon Festival.

Premium Edition buyers get early access on May 15, four days ahead of the standard May 19 launch. Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers get the base version on release day.

The Longest Wait Pays Off

The gap between Forza Horizon 5 and 6 is the longest in the sub-series’ history — and it shows in the demand. Playground Games had help this time: Turn 10 Studios shifted its entire focus to Horizon 6 in December 2025 after winding down support for Forza Motorsport (2023). It’s also the first Forza Horizon title built exclusively for ninth-generation consoles, no cross-gen compromise attached.

Designer Torben Ellert and artist Don Arceta are steering a project that, on paper at least, has had every advantage: more time, more studio resources, a fan-requested setting, and a proven formula that 54 million players already signed off on.

Racing’s Unshakeable Grip

The broader picture is worth noting. In an industry battered by studio closures, layoffs, and project cancellations, the racing genre keeps printing money. EA Sports FC 26 sits at #6 on the same Steam chart. Forza Horizon 6 is at #2. These are iterative, annual-adjacent franchises with devoted audiences who show up every cycle, buy the game, and play it for hundreds of hours.

Not every genre works this way. But racing — with its licensed cars, open-world freedom, and competitive multiplayer loop — has become one of gaming’s safest bets. Playground Games has understood this longer than most.

The green flag drops May 19. The money is already on the table.

Sources