Playground Games’ Forza Horizon 6 launches on May 19th, but as with its predecessor, those who want to play early can purchase the Premium Edition for $119.99. If you’re a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, that cost falls dramatically when purchasing the Premium Upgrade Bundle, but you’re still ponying up $59.99 – just $10 less than the Standard Edition.
Suffice it to say that fans on Reddit aren’t too thrilled with this news, especially when Forza Horizon 5’s Premium Add-Ons Bundle costs $49.99. Coupled with the Game Pass price increases – Ultimate costs $29.99 monthly – and it’s a much costlier proposition than in 2021.
Of course, the Premium Edition offers more than just four days of early access. You also get the Italian Passion Car Pack, a VIP Membership, a Welcome Pack, the Time Attack Car Pack, the Car Pass, and access to two expansions. The caveat here is that the Italian Passion Car Pack and expansions will arrive post-launch (the latter likely much later). Meanwhile, the Car Pack provides 30 additional cars, but they’re distributed one at a time weekly.
At that point, it’s cheaper in the long run to buy the Premium Edition. Nevertheless, even those who planned to pick up the latter must deal with price increases, which are all the more egregious in regions outside the US. For example, in Australia, the Premium Edition costs AU$190 – a whopping AU$40 increase over Forza Horizon 5’s Premium Edition.
It’s a shame because, given the size and scale of Tokyo City, the new Collection Journal, and how Playground Games looks to capture the feel of Japan, Forza Horizon 6 is shaping up genuinely well. But hey, at least the Standard Edition isn’t $80, right?