An upcoming open-world Xbox game set to release next month is the 3rd best-selling game on Steam, at least between April 7 and April 14. This is impressive for a game not even out yet, as it means it is doing this with pre-orders alone. Meanwhile, the only two games it is behind are Crimson Desert and Slay the Spire 2, in that order, two of some of 2026’s biggest hits so far. Suffice to say, the Xbox game looks poised to be a substantial commercial success, though this is not that surprising considering the success of its predecessors.
On May 19, Xbox Game Studios and Playground Games are set to release the latest installment in the Forza Horizon series, Forza Horizon 6. And Steam users are clearly excited because they are pre-ordering the game en masse. This may seem crazy, but while impressive, it’s not actually surprising. Forza Horizon is by far Xbox’s biggest series in the modern era, and arguably its best series as well. To this end, Forza Horizon 5 sold over 20 million copies, despite being free for many millions, at launch, via Xbox Game Pass, which it has never left. Meanwhile, it paired this commercial success with critical success as well, earning a 92 on Metacritic.
New, Unique Setting
The closer Forza Horizon 6 gets to launch, the closer it will probably get to the top spot of the Steam charts. It may be tough to dislodge Crismon Desert, which is likely going to be among the best-selling games of the year, but it will probably race past Slay the Spire 2. Most of this is just the result of the momentum the series has. Racing games are popular, and it is the most popular series in the genre. However, what can’t be discounted is its new setting.
Forza Horizon 6 is taking players to Japan, a new setting for the series, and a unique setting compared to the settings of the previous games. Furthermore, Japan is iconic. How much this impacts sales is impossible to know, but surely it has some impact, even if negligible.
Forza Horizon 6 is not included in Xbox Game Pass, which hurts pre-orders, but it is a full $70, which doesn’t help either. That said, this didn’t seem to hurt Forza Horizon 5 much, and the same looks poised to be true with Forza Horizon 6.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the conversations happening over on the ComicBook Forum.