Forza Horizon 6: Major Milestone Reached Before Launch – Part 1 & 2, Steam Pre-Orders Exceed 500K, New Trailer Shows Tokyo Cityscape

Forza Horizon 6 has already achieved a major milestone before its official release, with pre-sales on Steam surpassing 500,000 copies a month ahead of launch, according to market data firm Alinea Analytics. This figure represents strong early demand for the upcoming racing title, which is set in Japan and marks the first Forza Horizon game developed exclusively for the Xbox Series generation of consoles.

The 500,000 pre-sales on Steam alone translate to approximately $30 million in gross revenue before launch, based on regional pricing and different editions. Alinea Analytics notes that this makes Forza Horizon 6 the best-selling Forza title on Steam in the pre-launch phase, with the game currently ranking third on Steam’s wishlist charts, behind only Subnautica 2 and Deadlock.

More than 50,000 players pre-ordered the game on the first day it became available on Steam, indicating strong day-one commitment from the community. This level of early engagement reflects the trust built by the Forza Horizon brand over previous entries in the series, particularly Forza Horizon 5, which attracted over 10 million players in its first week and set a record for Xbox Game Studios.

Alinea Analytics projects that Forza Horizon 6 could surpass 2 million Steam sales within the first 24 hours of its May 19 release date, a pace that would exceed the launch performance of its predecessor when accounting for Steam sales alone. The firm highlights that console pre-orders and Game Pass activations are tracked separately, meaning total launch numbers across all platforms are likely to be significantly higher.

The game’s setting in Japan has been a long-requested feature by fans, with Playground Games delivering what PC Gamer’s Shaun Prescott described as the series’ best map yet after hands-on time earlier in April 2026. Forza Horizon 6 also brings back the wristband career mode, a feature that had been absent in recent entries but is returning due to fan demand.

With another four weeks of marketing momentum ahead of launch, Playground Games is positioned to potentially set a new benchmark for the racing genre, leveraging the Forza Tech engine’s capabilities on current-generation hardware. The title’s strong pre-launch performance on Steam underscores the franchise’s continued relevance across PC and console platforms.