Forza Horizon 6 registers 273 thousand simultaneous players and becomes the biggest Xbox launch on Steam
The new title, Forza Horizon 6, set a significant milestone on Steam. Data compiled by SteamDB indicates that the game reached a peak of more than 273 thousand players at the same time. With this milestone, the title surpassed the previous record of Halo Infinite, which registered 272,148 players, consolidating itself as the biggest launch by Xbox Game Studios in the platform’s history.
Forza Horizon 6’s achievement gains even more relevance considering that Halo Infinite’s multiplayer mode, when it set its previous record, was available for free. The game can also be accessed on other platforms, such as Xbox Series X|S, Microsoft Store and Game Pass, indicating that the total number of players across all systems is significantly higher.
Forza Horizon 6 performance triples previous game’s mark on Steam
SteamDB surveys reveal that Forza Horizon 6 vastly outperformed its predecessor. While Forza Horizon 5 reached a peak of 81,096 simultaneous players, the new release managed to triple that performance.
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The performance becomes even more remarkable when considering that these numbers refer exclusively to Steam users. Players who accessed the title via Xbox Series X|S or the Microsoft Store on computers are not included, suggesting the overall total across all platforms is considerably higher.
Forza Horizon 6 Early Access Period Attracted Millions of Players
Before being made available to the general public on May 19, 2026, Forza Horizon 6 had already gathered more than 1.1 million participants in the Early Access period. Score monitoring, carried out by the website DayOne, which was previously known as XboxEra, counted 1,191,886 players, with the number still rising.
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Early access was granted to players who purchased the Premium Edition, worth R$549, or to subscribers of the Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass services who opted to upgrade their plan. This total number of players already exceeds that achieved by Forza Horizon 5 in the same period of time, and faster.
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Forza Horizon 6 reaches 91 on Metacritic and leads 2026 reviews
In addition to the public success, Forza Horizon 6 also stands out in the evaluations of specialized critics in 2026. On Metacritic, the game received a score of 91, the result of 71 analyzes dedicated to the Xbox Series X|S, of which 15 yielded the maximum score from press vehicles. The game’s visuals were widely praised, being considered among the most impactful of the current generation.
The game marks the franchise’s debut on the Japanese scene, where the player takes on the role of a tourist seeking leadership at the Horizon Festival. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers have access to the title at no extra cost, both for consoles and computers.
