The State of the Racing Genre in Light of Forza Horizon 6's Success: Analysis of the Game's Launch and the Benchmark of the Niche

Forza Horizon 6 predictably became one of the highest-grossing releases of 2026. Playground Games further cemented its status as arguably the only Microsoft studio consistently delivering hits. Today, we'll delve not only into the launch of the new series installment but also examine the state of the genre as a whole.

Topics covered in this article:

• pre-release metrics for Forza Horizon 6: wishlists and pre-orders;
• the highly successful launch of the game: overall audience, revenue, and sales;
• historical context of Forza franchise sales, as well as comparison with metrics from other racing series;
• the highest-grossing racing games today and the overall state of the genre (median revenue, number of releases, and other metrics).

Initial Metrics for Forza Horizon 6

The buzz surrounding the new installment of Forza Horizon was noticeable long before its release. On Steam alone, it gathered over 3.3 million wishlists. Before the release, it ranked second on the list of the most anticipated releases on the platform, surpassed only by Deadlock (over 4 million wishlists).