Forza Horizon 6 passes Call of Duty on Xbox as its launch momentum keeps growing

Forza Horizon 6 is turning into one of Microsoft’s biggest gaming wins of the year. After a strong Early Access launch and a fast start across Xbox Series X and S, Windows PC, Steam, and Xbox Game Pass, the racing game has now passed Call of Duty on Xbox’s most played games list. That puts Playground Games’ open world racer ahead of one of gaming’s largest and most reliable franchises in current Xbox activity.

The result is especially notable because Call of Duty on Xbox is not counted as a single small release. The Call of Duty HQ client brings together several recent entries, including Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops 6, Black Ops 7, and Warzone. Forza Horizon 6 moving ahead of that combined player base shows how much attention the game has captured in its first week.

Forza Horizon 6 is now sitting near the top of Xbox’s most played chart

According to the official Xbox most played games list, Forza Horizon 6 is currently the fourth most played game on the platform. Only Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft are ahead of it. That also makes Forza Horizon 6 the second most played paid game on Xbox right now, since Fortnite and Roblox are free to play.

The game is also ahead of several major live service and multiplayer titles, including NBA 2K26, Rainbow Six Siege, Subnautica 2, Rocket League, Apex Legends, and Marvel Rivals. That is a strong position for a premium racing game, especially in a market where free to play multiplayer titles usually dominate engagement charts.

Forza Horizon 6 had already passed 6 million players across Xbox, PC, and Game Pass shortly after launch. Its Steam numbers have slowed slightly after the early launch rush, but the Xbox side appears to be gaining strength. That suggests the game is not simply benefiting from launch day curiosity. A large number of players are still actively spending time with it.

The timing also helps explain why the game is staying popular. Playground Games has already started rolling out its Festival Playlist updates, which add new cars and give players regular reasons to return. Forza Horizon 5 stayed active for years because of that steady content model, and Forza Horizon 6 appears to be following the same path.

Call of Duty will almost certainly remain the larger franchise in total revenue and long term reach. It has annual releases, a massive multiplayer audience, and Warzone as a free to play anchor. Still, Forza Horizon 6 passing it in current Xbox activity is a major moment for Microsoft.

For Xbox, the success matters beyond one chart position. It shows that a polished first party game, launched across console, PC, and Game Pass, can still create a large shared moment. Forza Horizon 6 is not only selling well or attracting attention at launch. It is keeping players engaged, and that may be the more important signal for its future.