Xbox leaders praise Playground Games as Forza Horizon 6 breaks early access record

Forza Horizon 6 has not fully launched for standard edition players yet, but it is already giving Xbox one of its strongest first party moments of 2026. The game has received excellent reviews, drawn a large early access audience, and now Xbox’s top leaders are publicly praising Playground Games for its rare consistency.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma congratulated Playground Games after Forza Horizon 6 became the most played early access release in the history of the series. That is a strong start, especially because the game’s full release and Xbox Game Pass launch are still arriving this week.

Sharma also pointed out that Playground Games has now delivered four consecutive Forza Horizon games with review averages above 90. In a games industry where even major franchises often rise and fall between entries, that level of consistency is unusual.

Microsoft Gaming chief content officer Matt Booty also praised the teams at Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios. He said the early success of Forza Horizon 6 reflects how the teams continue to refine the series without losing what makes it special.

That is an important point. Forza Horizon has become one of Xbox’s most dependable franchises because it rarely feels like a reset. Each entry improves the formula rather than replacing it. The series keeps its open world racing identity, while adding better environments, more activities, improved driving feel, and stronger visual detail.

Forza Horizon 6 continues that approach. Early reviews have praised its world, driving, progression, and overall polish. Players who bought early access have already been exploring the game before its wider release, which helped it set a new early access record for the series.

The timing is useful for Xbox. Microsoft is trying to strengthen confidence in its first party output while fans continue to debate exclusives, Game Pass, and the future of Xbox hardware. A highly rated Forza Horizon 6 gives the brand a clear success story at a moment when it needs one.

It also increases attention on Playground Games’ next major project, Fable. Many Xbox fans already trust the studio because of its work on Forza Horizon, and this latest success will only raise expectations for its fantasy RPG.

The challenge for Playground is that Forza Horizon 6 sets a very high bar. Keeping a racing series fresh across so many entries is not easy, but the studio has managed to do it by protecting the core experience and improving the details around it.

For Xbox, this is the kind of first party result that builds confidence. Forza Horizon 6 is not only reviewing well. It is already breaking franchise records before the full launch, and Microsoft’s leadership knows how rare that kind of momentum is.