Forza Horizon 6 breaks Xbox Game Studios’ Steam player record at launch

Forza Horizon 6 has delivered another major win for Xbox Game Studios, this time on Steam. Playground Games’ new racing title reached a peak of 273,148 concurrent players on launch day, May 19, making it the most played Xbox Game Studios title on Steam by concurrent player count.

That number puts Forza Horizon 6 just ahead of Halo Infinite, which previously held the record. The difference is small, reportedly around 500 players, but the comparison is still impressive because Halo Infinite’s multiplayer was free to play. Forza Horizon 6, by contrast, is a paid release with a standard price of around $70, while early access required the more expensive premium version.

Forza Horizon 6’s Steam launch shows how strong demand was even before Game Pass and PS5 numbers are counted

The record is important because it shows the strength of Forza Horizon 6 on PC outside of Game Pass. Many Xbox first party games now launch across console, PC, and subscription services, which can make it harder to judge direct demand from one platform alone. Steam numbers are useful because they show how many players chose to buy and play the game directly through Valve’s storefront.

The early access period had already suggested that demand was high. Hundreds of thousands of players reportedly jumped in before the full launch, even though early access was tied to the more expensive $120 edition. The full release then pushed the game higher and helped it pass Halo Infinite’s Steam peak.

The achievement does come with one note. The comparison is focused on Xbox Game Studios titles and does not include Activision or Bethesda releases. Games such as Call of Duty, Fallout 4, Skyrim, and Starfield have reached larger Steam peaks in the past. Still, Forza Horizon 6 leading the Xbox Game Studios list is a major result for Playground Games.

This also continues a strong launch week for the racer. Earlier reports suggested Forza Horizon 6 was nearing 5 million copies sold and had generated around $325 million in gross revenue during its first week. Playground Games also confirmed that more than 6 million people had played the game overall, helped by Xbox, Steam, and Game Pass access.

The Japan setting likely played a major role in the game’s strong start. Fans had asked for a Japanese Forza Horizon map for years, and the final version appears to have connected with both critics and players. The game has also been praised for its performance on Xbox Series X, strong visuals, and the usual open world racing freedom that has made the series one of Microsoft’s most reliable franchises.

There are still areas to improve. Playground Games is already investigating Drivatar balance and PC specific issues, including AMD GPU performance, audio crackling, crashes, and loading errors. But those early problems have not stopped the game from becoming a major launch.

For Xbox, this record matters beyond one game. It shows that a strong first party title can still generate major paid sales and huge player activity even when it also exists inside Game Pass. Forza Horizon 6 is now a clear example of Xbox’s hybrid strategy working at scale: premium editions, Steam sales, console players, subscriptions, and a future PS5 release all feeding into the same launch momentum.