Forza Horizon 6 launches with over 270,000 players on Steam  

Even for a game as highly anticipated as Forza Horizon 6, its success has been unprecedented.

When the Premium Edition launched last week, it peaked at 181,775 players on Steam during the launch weekend – more than doubling its predecessor’s all-time record.

What made this feat even more impressive was that the game technically wasn’t out yet. These numbers represent players who paid £109.99 / $119.99 / €119.99 for the Premium Edition, which includes up to four days of early access, as well as a Car Pass and access to two expansions when they launch, among other perks.

Yesterday (19 May) marked the full launch with the release of the Standard Edition, and the launch-day player numbers are staggering.

According to SteamDB, Forza Horizon 6 peaked at 273,148 players on Steam. Incredibly, it’s already tripled the series’ all-time record, with Forza Horizon 5’s Steam player count peaking at 81,096 over four years ago.

At the time of writing, Forza Horizon 6 is also the global top-selling game on Steam and the fourth most-played game on the platform, behind the likes of PUBG: Battlegrounds, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2. It’s also the highest-ever peak for a racing game on Steam, according to the tracking website.

Notably, the player numbers don’t include Game Pass subscribers, who likely make up a hefty proportion of the player base. Xbox player numbers haven’t been released.

Forza Horizon 6 released to rave reviews, with Xbox CEO Asha Sharma congratulating Playground Games for the game marking the “most played Early Access in series history” on social media last weekend.

Forza Horizon 6 is also launching on PlayStation 5 later this year, which will inevitably see another player spike on the more popular platform.

For more on Forza Horizon 6, check out our review and guides on locating Barn Finds and Treasure Cars. You can also read our interview with Playground Games on recreating Japan for the open-world racer.