This past week has been crazy for Microsoft and millions of Xbox players. Many people already know that Forza Horizon 6 (developed by Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games) Standard Edition released this past Tuesday, May 19th. People who purchased the premium edition got early access on May 15th, but it’s likely that more people went with Standard Edition because of the price, so the big day for most was Tuesday.
I’m one of the people who got access on the 19th, specifically through Xbox Game Pass. I’ve been playing almost every day since, and I’ll say it straight up, it’s shaping up to be the best Forza game yet.
This post covers both a review of Forza Horizon 6 and its gameplay, and an insight on the new CEO of Xbox, Asha Sharma. To start, let’s go in depth on why I got FH6 and what makes it so good. Strap in and grab your popcorn for a nice overview on what’s new this week.
The Release of FH6
Forza Horizon 6 reportedly made over $325 million in one week, with more sales on Steam than Xbox, says Gizchina. If true, Steam outselling Xbox is a striking showcase of how massive Valve’s platform has gotten over the years.
It also hit #1 in Top Sellers on Steam. The release hype was through the roof, and the first-week stats back that up.
First Impressions
After launch, millions of people hopped on and installed it. I hadn’t preinstalled it, so I had to wait for the download to finish first. The game is a whopping ~150 GB depending on your platform, which seems a bit unoptimized, but still manageable for a title of this scale.
Once installed, the tutorial is interactive and gives you a solid feel for what the game is going to be like with a few races right out of the gate. I liked seeing the train and the places I recognized from the trailer. The storyline gets a solid 8/10 from me, good voiceovers, you get to know Mei and Jordan, and it makes for a smooth introduction to the overall story. I didn’t have to touch a single setting, which I really appreciated.
I also appreciate how the game automatically sets your difficulty based on whether you’re new or returning to the series, and how you don’t have to manually configure how the AI races against you. It was smooth sailing from the start.
Performance is great too. With performance mode enabled, it still looks really good and runs at 120fps on my Xbox Series S.
First Races
Once the tutorial wraps up and you’re a bit more free-roaming, the first thing you’ll probably want to do is explore the map or jump into racing, which is what I did. I also wanted to build up credits quickly to save for cars down the line. The best way to get started is Anna’s “What’s Next” button, which is new to the Horizon series. It automatically recommends Horizon Invitational races and events near you, which is a genuinely useful feature.
Horizon Invitational
I’m only through the first few wristbands so far, but I’m really enjoying the Horizon Invitational and the wristband progression. Each event has its own theme and fits well into the story. Unlocking them and progressing feels rewarding every step of the way.
Welcome to Japan Series
The Day One series is called “Welcome to Japan,” and it ends in just under a month from when I’m writing this. I’m excited to grab the Mazda after collecting 60 series icons, and the quests are a fun way to rack up credits early on. I’m sitting at nearly 2.5 million credits with over 4 million in total earnings. The season quests are great too, with a chance to win million-dollar cars like the 2021 McLaren Sabre and the 2021 Pagani Huayra R. Overall, 9/10 series. It’s a little grindy, but that’s expected.
Delivery Job
You can also work as a delivery driver in Forza, for RakuRaku Express. It’s a fun side story, just not the best way to grind credits.
FH6 Summary
After spending a solid week with Forza Horizon 6, here’s the breakdown:
- Tutorial & Onboarding: One of the best in the series. Auto-difficulty setup, no manual configuration needed, and a genuinely engaging intro story. 9/10.
- Performance: 120fps on Xbox Series S in performance mode. Looks great and runs smooth.
- Storyline: Good voiceovers and solid character introductions. Not the main draw, but a nice 8/10.
- Welcome to Japan Series: Fun, rewarding, and worth grinding. 9/10.
- Horizon Invitational: Great progression system, each event has its own identity.
- Delivery Job: Fun distraction, not a credit grind.
- File Size: ~150 GB is a lot, but expected for a game of this scope.
- Overall early verdict: Best Forza Horizon yet. If you have Game Pass, there is zero reason not to play this.
The New Xbox CEO, And Why I Got Game Pass Ultimate
Now here’s the part that actually got me on this game in the first place. Xbox Game Pass, and the person behind why it’s worth subscribing to again: Asha Sharma.
Asha Sharma became CEO of Xbox on February 23rd, taking over from Phil Spencer after his unc status, aka retirement. She came from Microsoft’s AI division, and before that had roles at Meta and Instacart. She’s not really the typical gaming lover on paper, but she’s three months into the job and she’s already done more noticeable things for Xbox than the previous leadership did in a long time. Plus, she is even planning to remove AI BS, because she has “no tolerance for bad AI” which is good news for gamers, like me, who hate copilot slop. This is quite surprising and a little fishy coming from the CoreAI division.
One of her first big moves was the Game Pass price cut on April 21st. Back in October 2025, Microsoft quietly hiked Game Pass Ultimate from $20 a month all the way up to $30 a month. People were not happy about that at all, and a lot of subscribers either dropped the subscription entirely or downgraded to a cheaper tier. It was honestly a pretty inconsiderate move, especially when the economy is the way it is right now. When Sharma came in and slashed it back down to $22.99 a month, it felt like someone at Xbox finally listened. PC Game Pass also dropped from $16.49 to $13.99. It’s not back to where it was originally, but it’s a way more reasonable price than $30.
That’s exactly why I got Game Pass. At $30 a month I wasn’t touching it. But at $22.99 for Ultimate, which includes cloud gaming, online multiplayer, and hundreds of games including FH6 day one, it’s actually worth it. It was an easy yes for me, and clearly an easy yes for many people who purchased it to get FH6 and the perks that come with Ultimate.
There is one catch though. Future Call of Duty titles won’t be on Game Pass at launch anymore. New CoD games will come to the service about a year after release instead, while existing titles in the library stay. I’ve never played CoD, so it doesn’t necessarily apply to me, but it’s definitely worth noting if that’s your main reason for subscribing.
Beyond the price cut, Sharma has been moving fast. She’s laid out a four-point plan focused on hardware, games, platform, and services. She rebranded the division back to just “Xbox,” dropping the “Microsoft Gaming” name. She’s pushing biweekly console and PC updates through the end of the year and she’s brought in new leadership, including Matthew Ball as chief strategy officer and Chris Schnakenberg (formerly of Activision Blizzard) heading up partnerships.
She also acknowledged that “player and revenue growth has not yet met our ambition,” which is pretty rare for a new CEO to say that openly this early on. Xbox hardware revenue dropped 33% in Q3 FY26 and both the Switch 2 and PS5 outsold Xbox consoles in Q1. Things haven’t been going great on the hardware side for a while now, but the direction Sharma is taking things feels a lot better. She’s not being defensive about the situation, she’s actually doing things about it, and that’s something we love.
Between the price cut, FH6 launching day one on Game Pass, and the overall shift in direction Xbox seems to be taking, this has honestly been a really good month to be an Xbox player. I’m super excited to see how things go from here, and what’s next to come from Microsoft.
Thank you for reading this article! If you’d like to purchase Forza Horizon 6, I’ve put the Xbox link below.
🎮 Xbox: https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/forza-horizon-6/9NR1R1XWLCNB/0010