Forza Horizon 6 reportedly sold almost 5 million copies before its first full weekend

Forza Horizon 6 appears to be off to a huge start, with third party data suggesting the game sold 4.9 million copies across Xbox and Steam by Friday, May 22. That figure includes the four day early access period and around three days after the standard edition release.

This is related to the earlier news about Forza Horizon 6 crossing 300,000 concurrent players on Steam, but it is not the same update. That earlier story focused on Steam’s live player count. This one adds estimated sales data, Game Pass player numbers, and a wider view of the game’s launch performance.

The sales estimate looks strong, but it still comes from a third party data firm

The 4.9 million figure comes from Alinea Analytics, so it should not be treated as an official Microsoft number. Still, it lines up with other signs that Forza Horizon 6 is having a strong launch. Playground Games already said the game reached 6 million total players by Thursday, May 21, and SteamDB later showed a new Steam player record of more than 300,000 concurrent players.

The sales split is also interesting. According to the report, revenue from full game sales was almost evenly divided between Xbox and Steam, with Xbox at 51 percent and Steam at 49 percent. That suggests the PC version is doing extremely well, even with the game also being available through Game Pass.

The early access period likely helped revenue too. Many of those early sales would have come from higher priced editions, including the $120 early access version. That means Forza Horizon 6 may have generated significant money before its first full weekend even began.

Game Pass complicates the picture. More than 3 million players reportedly accessed the game through the subscription service, which pushes the total player count much higher than direct sales alone. That is both a strength and a challenge for Microsoft. Game Pass helps bring in a huge audience quickly, but it also makes pure sales comparisons harder.

Forza Horizon 6 already had momentum before launch. Strong review scores, the Japan setting, and large early Steam numbers all helped make it one of Microsoft’s biggest releases of the year. The setting has been one of the most requested locations in the series, and that likely played a major role in the strong response.

The numbers also strengthen the argument that Forza Horizon is now one of Xbox’s most important franchises. Racing games do not always perform like blockbuster shooters or RPGs, but Horizon has become a broader open world series with casual appeal, car collecting, music, exploration, and social events.

There is still work ahead for Playground Games. The studio has already said it is looking into several areas for improvement, including PC related issues and Drivatar balance. If those fixes arrive quickly, the game could keep its launch momentum into the next few weeks.

For now, the signs are very positive. Even if Alinea’s estimate is not exact, Forza Horizon 6 has clearly launched with major sales, a large Game Pass audience, and record level Steam interest. A near 5 million sales estimate before the opening weekend is a major result for Playground Games and another strong signal that Microsoft’s racing series still has massive reach.