Forza Horizon
Game
56 documents in the library are about Forza Horizon, from writers such as Alinea Analytics, GameDiscoverCo and The Game Business. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
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Key figures from the reports
Microsoft increased the premium edition price for Forza Horizon 6 to $120, a $20 increase over the $100 premium edition of Forza Horizon 5, while also raising the base game price from $60 to $70.
Game File, 2026 · Want Early Access to the Biggest New Video Games? This Year’s Offers Changed a Bit
Xbox’s Forza Horizon 6 is the top-grossing first-party title, generating $579.2M in revenue from 8.8M copies sold, with 56.7% of revenue coming from Xbox platforms.
Alinea Analytics, 2026 · Top-Grossing First-Party Games: 2026
Forza Horizon 6 generated over $325 million in revenue from 5 million copies sold in its opening days, bolstered by 1.7 million premium early-access purchases.
PWN Games, 2026 · Games and Numbers: May 20 – June 2, 2026
The game's early buyers on Steam are a cohort of early adopters who purchase many major releases, with significant overlap with players of titles like Resident Evil Requiem (37%), Crimson Desert (28%), and Forza Horizon 6 (21%).
Alinea Analytics, 2026 · 007 First Light: Estimating Steam Market Performance
Forza Horizon 6 shows strong regional interest with 7% of its Steam wishlisters based in Japan, a significantly higher share than typical for the platform.
Alinea Analytics, 2026 · Top 2026 Games by Steam Wishlists
Documents about Forza Horizon
Want Early Access to the Biggest New Video Games? This Year’s Offers Changed a Bit
Major video game publishers are increasingly utilizing early access as a strategic tool to drive revenue and incentivize premium digital purchases.
- Major publishers are increasingly monetizing early access by bundling it into higher-priced premium editions, effectively creating tiered release dates for AAA titles.
- Take-Two extended the early access window for NBA 2K27 to nine days for the $100 version, up from seven days for the 2025 edition and four days for the 2018 version.
- Microsoft increased the premium edition price for Forza Horizon 6 to $120, a $20 increase over the $100 premium edition of Forza Horizon 5, while also raising the base game price from $60 to $70.
Top-Grossing First-Party Games: 2026
This analysis provides a performance overview of top-grossing first-party titles from Sony and Microsoft for 2026, utilizing proprietary estimates across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms.
- Xbox’s Forza Horizon 6 is the top-grossing first-party title, generating $579.2M in revenue from 8.8M copies sold, with 56.7% of revenue coming from Xbox platforms.
- PlayStation’s Wolverine generated $192.9M in revenue from 2.5M copies sold since its launch one month ago, maintaining a high player rating of 4.7/5 despite critical reception.
- MLB The Show 26 generated $192.7M in revenue, a 23% increase over the previous installment, with Xbox accounting for 48% of total revenue due to a strategy of transitioning former Game Pass users to full-price purchases.
The Premium PC/Console Gaming Market: H1 2026
The premium PC and console gaming market experienced a 5.3% year-over-year revenue increase in the first half of 2026, reaching $13.8 billion.
- The premium PC and console market generated $30 billion in revenue between H2 2025 and H1 2026, with PlayStation capturing 45.1% of the share, followed by Steam at 38.6% and Xbox at 16.3%.
- Market revenue grew 5.3% year-over-year to $13.8 billion in H1 2026, driven by a strong second quarter that saw a 13% revenue increase compared to the previous year.
- Steam's revenue is heavily reliant on back-catalog titles, which accounted for 68.7% to 74% of total revenue in H1 2026, despite a record-high volume of 11,800 new game releases during the same period.
Deckchairs on the Titanic
The September 2026 analysis examines the latest organizational restructuring within Microsoft’s Xbox division, characterizing the move as a futile attempt to address systemic failures through administrative consolidation.
- Microsoft has initiated a major restructuring of its Xbox division, resulting in 268 additional layoffs and the consolidation of several business units under Activision.
- The company aims to reach a total of 3,200 layoffs for the current fiscal year, with approximately 800 more job cuts expected to follow the 1,600 positions eliminated in July.
- Key organizational changes include folding Halo Studios, Rare, and World’s Edge into Activision, merging Turn10 with Playground Games, and placing Obsidian under Bethesda’s management.
Microsoft Makes Big Cuts at Halo Studios, Shifts Franchise to Activision
Microsoft is undergoing a significant restructuring of its gaming division as of September 2026, characterized by workforce reductions, studio reassignments, and a fundamental shift in the management of its flagship intellectual property.
- Microsoft is laying off 268 employees, primarily from Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) and Xbox Games Studio management, as part of a broader 3,200-person workforce reduction announced in July.
- Development of the next Halo game is moving to Activision, where a newly assembled team will lead production and publishing, while Halo Studios shifts to a caretaker and support role.
- The potential sale of Ninja Theory has fallen through, leaving the studio at risk of closure and subject to a formal consultation process.
Halo to Activision: Xbox Merges Studios and Cuts 268 Jobs
Xbox has initiated a significant organizational restructuring, resulting in 268 job cuts across its internal studios and central operations.
- Xbox is cutting 268 jobs across Halo Studios, the Xbox Game Studios central organization, and other first-party teams as part of an ongoing restructuring process.
- Halo development is being transferred to Activision, which will lead both existing projects and the creation of a new, purpose-built team for the next title in the franchise.
- Rare and World’s Edge have been moved to report under Activision, while Obsidian will now report directly to Bethesda.
“Some of the offers were actually offensive” – How Forza Horizon rival Clutch found its publisher
Maverick Games is positioning its debut title, Clutch, as a cinematic, story-driven racing experience designed to carve out a distinct niche rather than directly challenging established industry titans like Forza Horizon.
- Maverick Games secured a publishing partnership with Focus Entertainment for its debut title, Clutch, after an initial deal with Amazon Games was terminated due to shifting corporate priorities.
- The studio successfully retained full intellectual property rights following the Amazon Games split, allowing them to reject unfavorable offers and maintain creative control.
- Clutch is being developed as a cinematic, story-driven racing game set in the South of France, intentionally designed to occupy a niche distinct from major competitors like Forza Horizon.
Maverick Games: Amazon Divorce, Forza, and Focus Entertainment
Maverick Games, a UK-based studio founded by former leaders of the Forza Horizon series, recently navigated a significant shift in its publishing strategy following the termination of its partnership with Amazon Games.
- Maverick Games secured full ownership of its racing title 'Clutch' after Amazon abandoned the project, allowing the studio to retain all rights and assets.
- Maverick Games signed a new publishing deal with Focus Entertainment after rejecting several unsolicited offers from other publishers that the studio deemed 'offensive' due to unfavorable revenue-share terms.
- The studio prioritized partnering with Focus Entertainment because the publisher demonstrated genuine engagement with the game, with senior staff spending a full week playing the title before signing.
Amazon Ditched Their Game... And It Revitalized Their Studio
The termination of a publishing agreement between Amazon Games and the independent studio Maverick Games in January 2026 served as a catalyst for the studio’s creative and operational revitalization.
- Maverick Games regained full ownership of its racing title, 'Clutch,' and secured a significant financial settlement after Amazon Games terminated their publishing agreement in January 2026.
- The dissolution of the partnership allowed Maverick Games to eliminate corporate bureaucratic friction, enabling a more agile development process and an unconventional marketing campaign for the 2026 Summer Game Fest.
- Despite the loss of a major publisher, the studio remains fully operational with approximately 145 staff members and is on track for a planned spring 2027 release.
My Favourite Games of 2026 Thus Far
The gaming landscape of 2026 is defined by a diverse array of titles that prioritize mechanical innovation and narrative depth over traditional blockbuster spectacle.
- The report, published on July 22, 2026, highlights several notable games released or anticipated in 2025 and 2026, including "Outhold" (2025), "Forza Horizon 6" (2026), "Pragmata" (2026), and "Vampire Crawlers" (2026).
- Capcom has released two significant new titles in 2026: "Pragmata," a new IP building on third-person combat with puzzle-solving and hacking mechanics, and "Requiem," which preceded "Pragmata" by two months.
- "Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors" (2026) by Poncle and Nosebleed Interactive reimagines "Vampire Survivors" as a deck-building roguelike, emphasizing strategy and deck crafting.
Game Charts: The Most Successful New Games of the First Half of 2026 in Germany
The German Games Industry Association provides an overview of the most successful new video game releases in Germany during the first half of 2026.
- Resident Evil Requiem (Capcom) was the best-selling new PC and console game in Germany during the first half of 2026.
- The top five best-selling new releases for the period were Resident Evil Requiem, Forza Horizon 6 (Microsoft), 007 First Light (IO Interactive), Pragmata (Capcom), and LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (Warner Bros. Games).
- The rankings are based on combined physical and digital sales data from the Games Sales Data (GSD) platform, covering the period from January to June 2026.
Steam: Record Revenue 2026
Steam experienced its most successful half-year period in history during the first six months of 2026, generating an estimated $11.1 billion in gross revenue.
- Steam generated a record $11.1 billion in gross revenue during the first half of 2026, marking a 14.5% increase over H1 2025 and an 8% increase over the second half of 2025.
- The platform's reliance on back-catalogue sales has grown significantly, with new releases accounting for only 21% of revenue in H1 2026, down from 29% in H1 2024.
- Steam's half-year revenue has quintupled over the last decade, growing from approximately $2.3 billion in H1 2017 to $11.1 billion in H1 2026.
Companies behind it
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