It’s official: Forza Horizon 6 has gone gold, as if there was any doubt about a delay, given Playground Games’ reputation (please ignore the elephant in the room called “Fable”). Xbox graphics modes have been detailed; pre-loading is now available, with PC players needing a whopping 160 GB on an SSD, and the radio stations have been revealed, including something called Gacha City Radio. I’ve sworn off the genre until Lucy from Edgerunners potentially debuts in Wuthering Waves, but if this is a collection of the best songs across multiple games, I will be giddy.
In case you haven’t noticed, despite launching almost five years after the fifth game, which has received plenty of meaty updates, the hype is very much real. Reports claim 500,000 copies sold on Steam alone, and wishlists have likely already surged beyond the initially alleged 2.6 million. It’s also currently the sixth-best-selling title on the platform in terms of revenue.
And that’s just Steam. If the response to Forza Horizon 5 is any indication, expect Game Pass numbers to go through the roof for Forza Horizon 6. All in all, its success was guaranteed from the very moment Playground Games confirmed Japan as a setting.
All that said, why couldn’t this launch on day one for PS5?
Far be it from me to tell the studio how to do its job, but it’s an honest question. One response that immediately comes to mind is Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan speaking to GamesRadar about why Fable could launch on day one for the console, but Forza Horizon 6 couldn’t. “Sometimes we are inconsistent. You see some games in one place, some games in multiple places. Just know that we’re going to work on that, and we’re going to try and be more consistent with what we do.”
A relatively amicable response…until I also remembered VGC’s Andy Robinson reporting how the open-world racer has been “targeting PS5 for a while,” and the only apparent reason it isn’t launching day-and-date is that “It just wasn’t ready.” And that’s with Turn 10 Studios providing support.
Of course, with everything we’ve heard about the game – the largest map in the series’ history, Tokyo City being more than five times larger than Playground Games’ biggest city, the most tracks in history – it’s understandable that development would take additional time. For once, it’s also difficult to blame Microsoft. Even as it debates exclusivity for its first-party titles, what console manufacturer wouldn’t want a game like this to be available exclusively on their platforms of choice for the first few months?
It may not necessarily drive PlayStation fans to pick up a Series X (much less an S), that too in this economy, but you can bet it’ll drive PC Game Pass revenue. There are also other factors to consider, starting with that ever-annoying facet of triple-A expenditure: Marketing. The lion’s share of marketing costs will undoubtedly go towards advertising its impending Xbox and PC releases, because of course they would. You might not think it ties back to things like the limited edition Xbox Wireless Controller and Wireless Headset, but that’s just one aspect of the whole marketing cycle.
One also needs to consider optimization. Even if the Series S is nowhere near the X in terms of power, Playground is likely content to no longer support the Xbox One. That said, it still needs time to ensure everything runs tip-top, especially on a PC with its myriad of hardware configurations.
So even with all the above reasons, why does the lack of a day-one launch feel like such a big missed opportunity? For one simple reason: Forza Horizon 5.
Released in April 2025, it’s probably the most successful first-party Xbox title released for the platform (not including Minecraft, of course). Even if you don’t believe the estimates, look no further than support studio Virtuos, claiming it sold over five million copies last year on PS5. “Last year” being the key – that total may have gone up since then.
You could argue that neither Microsoft nor Playground Games could have anticipated this success. On the other hand, the fact that Turn 10 Studios was reportedly designed as a support studio for Forza Horizon 6, as soon as it suffered layoffs, should be enough indication that it was at least on the cards. We’ll probably never know the exact reason for the staggered release, but the most plausible is the same as initially rumored – it just wasn’t ready.
With Playground focused on finishing the game and Turn 10’s overall headcount drastically reduced after last year’s layoffs – not to mention optimizing for specialized features like DualSense and PS5 Pro support – it wouldn’t be surprising if Microsoft insists on the port taking as much time as necessary. Look at Starfield, which launched on PS5 to complaints of crashes that took several hotfixes to address. It’s situations like this that Microsoft and Playground Games likely want to avoid, primarily because they’re aware of how successful Forza Horizon 6 could be on PS5.
Of course, there are other knock-on effects of not launching on day one, such as crossplay. The pool of players will likely still be massive, but all three platforms logging in on the same day would have been something truly special. However, there is another, more awkward problem to address: Just where exactly can the PS5 version slot in? If Halo: Campaign Evolved is indeed launching in July, as rumored, Fable arrives in October (if not December or next year), and Gears of War: E-Day reportedly lands somewhere in the second half of this year, where does that leave Forza Horizon 6?
September is viable, and while I think its appeal should be enough for a sizable audience, it has to compete with Marvel’s Wolverine, Phantom Blade Zero and The Blood of Dawnwalker, to start with. October is doable, but it won’t be long before we see numerous releases dated, such as the next Call of Duty. November is a no-go because of Grand Theft Auto 6, and while December may be safer, it wouldn’t be surprising if Rockstar’s magnum opus dominates the conversation – and sales – for that month as well.
All in all, it’s a strange situation, especially since Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable will launch on day one for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. At this rate, Gears of War: E-Day may very well follow suit. Microsoft may release Forza Horizon 6 for PS5 in the same month as any of those titles and not really care if it doesn’t achieve as many day-one sales (cue the “wiping tears with money” meme). After all, look how successful Forza Horizon 5 ended up being, and that arrived nearly four years after its initial launch.
It’s thus possible that Microsoft is more interested in the long game – that the title will sell on PS5, even if it’s over an extended period. If it can drive more potential consumers to Game Pass and Xbox in the meantime, then they may very well be victorious. On the bright side, at least those waiting to experience it on PlayStation can look forward to updates and additional content down the line, especially if the first expansion drops around the same time. And hey, for what it’s worth, Xbox won’t be getting Marvel’s Wolverine, Phantom Blade Zero or Silent Hill: Townfall anytime soon. Equivalent exchange and whatnot, but regardless, here’s hoping PS5 players won’t have to wait long to traverse Japan.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
