To say that Forza Horizon 6 has been successful for Microsoft and Xbox to date would actually be an understatement; it loved a large Early Entry launch forward of its full launch, and as soon as the sport did come out for all throughout Xbox Collection X|S, Home windows PC, and Xbox Sport Cross, it blew up on Steam inside minutes and shortly accrued over 6 million gamers throughout all platforms.
Every week later, it is misplaced a contact of its launch momentum on Steam, the place its concurrent participant depend has dropped a bit (however solely by a small quantity, thoughts you). Throughout Xbox Collection X|S and Xbox on PC, nevertheless, the open-world arcade racer has truly accelerated some, and has surpassed even Name of Responsibility when it comes to present reputation.
This may be noticed on the official Xbox most-played games list proper now, the place Forza Horizon 6 has pulled forward of Activision’s juggernaut FPS collection. That makes it the fourth most-played Xbox recreation for the time being, solely behind Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft. It is also the second most-played recreation on Xbox that prices cash, as Fortnite and Roblox are free-to-play.
Another titles Forza Horizon 6 is outperforming embrace the sports activities recreation NBA 2K26, the tactical shooter Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, and the newly launched Subnautica 2 that is additionally doing extremely properly at launch. It is also forward of distinguished live-service free-to-play video games akin to Rocket League, Apex Legends, and Marvel Rivals.
Whereas all of that is undeniably spectacular, I nonetheless suppose the very fact Forza has overtaken Call of Duty is the biggest feat of all. The shooter is one of the world’s largest video game IPs, and routinely enjoys success that dwarfs most competition in the genre. Even when games like Battlefield 6 outsell it in the short term, Call of Duty almost always takes back the lead over time.
In terms of profit and long-term revenue, Call of Duty will stay ahead of Forza as well. But even so, Forza Horizon 6 surpassing the FPS’ current player count on Xbox is a huge accomplishment, and one that I’m sure makes developer Playground Games very, very happy.
It’s particularly notable because the Call of Duty HQ client on Xbox encompasses multiple recent entries in the franchise, including Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops 6, last year’s Black Ops 7, and the live-service free-to-play battle royale Warzone. That’s five combined Call of Duty player counts that Forza Horizon 6 is beating.
As for how long that lead will last, it’s impossible to say — but I doubt Forza will fall out of popularity any time soon, especially since Playground Games has kicked off its first of many Festival Playlist updates that expands the game’s car list with new and unique vehicles to take for a spin out in Japan. Indeed, if the stellar performance of Forza Horizon 5 is any indication, its sequel will remain a frequently played fan favorite for many months and years to come.
Are you enjoying Forza Horizon 6 now that it’s out? Let me know what you think of the game below, and make sure you vote in our poll as well.
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