Release Date and Times

1:10 Forza Horizon 6 came out on May 19, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S and PC (the Xbox app, the Microsoft Store and Steam), Xbox Cloud Gaming, Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Owners of the Premium Edition or the Premium Upgrade played up to four days early, from May 15, 2026. On Xbox and the Xbox app the game unlocked at 12:01am local time in each country, a rolling midnight; on Steam it unlocked at one global moment, 12:01am EDT, which is 4:01am UTC. The PS5 version comes later, on Jan 26, 2027 (see PS5 Release Date).

Quick facts

Sources: Forza Horizon 6 Release Timing, Forza Support, May 13, 2026; Forza Horizon 6 Early Access, Playground Games, May 14, 2026; Preload post, May 12, 2026; PS5 announcement, Oct 8, 2026.

When did Forza Horizon 6 come out?

0:26 The general release, for the Standard and Deluxe Editions and for Game Pass, was May 19, 2026. Early access for the Premium Edition and Premium Upgrade began on May 15, 2026; Playground started the early access rollout on May 14, because the first countries to reach midnight on May 15 were in the Pacific. Game Pass members could buy the Premium Upgrade on its own to join early access (see Game Pass, Cross-Play and Cross-Save).

Players who saw a "You're too early" message after their time had come were missing the entitlement: the Premium Edition, or the Premium Upgrade together with the Standard or Deluxe Edition or a Game Pass membership on the same account.

What time did Forza Horizon 6 unlock?

On Xbox Series X|S and the Xbox app on PC, the game unlocked at 12:01am local time in each country. A country with several time zones unlocked when its eastern-most zone reached 12:01am, so all U.S. territories unlocked together at 12:01am ET, which was 9:01pm PT the evening before. Steam ignored local time and unlocked once for the whole world at 12:01am EDT. Xbox Cloud Gaming opened on May 19 at 6:01am UTC and had no early access.

Sources: Early Access Rollout Infographic for all of our Platforms, Playground Games on Steam, May 13, 2026; Forza Horizon 6 Release Timing, Forza Support, May 13, 2026.

Because Steam used one moment, a Steam player in London got in at 5:01am BST, not at midnight, and a Steam player in Tokyo at 1:01pm JST; an Xbox player in the same city got in at midnight. Before the final word, Playground's early access support page gave the Steam time as "(TBC) PT"; the forza.net early access post settled it at 4:01am UTC.

Why does Steam say May 18?

The Steam store page lists the release date as May 18, 2026, as of Nov 3, 2026. It is not a different date: Steam's 12:01am EDT unlock on May 19 was 9:01pm PT on May 18, and Steam shows dates on Pacific time. The release timing page explains the same quirk for players on the U.S. West Coast, whose stores showed May 14 and May 18.

When could you preload Forza Horizon 6?

Preloads opened on May 12, 2026 on Xbox and Steam for anyone who had pre-ordered and for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members; disc buyers could start the download from the Xbox mobile app. The day-one downloads were 135 GB on Xbox Series X, 130 GB on Series S and 160 GB on PC. The days before were not smooth on Steam: about a week before launch the full game was preloaded without encryption and some users ran it early (Thurrott, May 11, 2026), and on May 12 Playground told anyone holding "the placeholder file" to check for updates. That story and the launch hotfixes are on Known Issues and Fixes.

Release history

Sources: Forza Horizon 6 Reveal FAQ, Forza Support, Sep 25, 2025; Developer_Direct Returns January 22, Xbox Wire, Jan 8, 2026; Forza Horizon 6 Releases May 19, Jan 22, 2026; 10 Incredible New Features, Feb 9, 2026; PC deep dive, Mar 25, 2026; Initial Drive Gameplay, Apr 8, 2026; Achievements List, Apr 13, 2026; Metacritic, read Nov 3, 2026; PS5 announcement, Oct 8, 2026.

0:38 The Tokyo Game Show reveal closed on Mount Fuji, and the reasons Playground gave for the setting are on Why Japan. At the Developer_Direct, Playground also revealed the Cover Cars and opened pre-orders for the editions on Editions and Price.

When is the PS5 release?

0:00 Forza Horizon 6 comes to PS5 on Jan 26, 2027, with Premium Edition early access from Jan 21, 2027, announced by Playground on Oct 8, 2026. It unlocks at 12:01am local time on PS5, which is 12:01am EST in all U.S. territories and 9:00pm PST the evening before on the West Coast. Expansion 1 arrives on every platform on Jan 21, 2027, the same day PS5 early access begins. Prices, modes and cross-save are on PS5 Release Date.

Frequently asked questions

When did Forza Horizon 6 come out? Forza Horizon 6 came out on May 19, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, with Premium Edition early access from May 15, 2026.

What time did Forza Horizon 6 release on Steam? Forza Horizon 6 unlocked on Steam at 12:01am EDT (4:01am UTC) worldwide, on May 15 for early access and May 19 for everyone. That was 9:01pm PT the evening before, which is why Steam lists May 18.

What time did Forza Horizon 6 unlock on Xbox? On Xbox Series X|S and the Xbox app, Forza Horizon 6 unlocked at 12:01am local time in each country. All U.S. territories unlocked together at 12:01am ET.

How early is Forza Horizon 6 early access? Forza Horizon 6 early access began up to four days before launch, on May 15, 2026, for owners of the Premium Edition or the Premium Upgrade, including Game Pass members who bought the upgrade.

Did Forza Horizon 6 have early access on Xbox Cloud Gaming? No. Forza Horizon 6 opened on Xbox Cloud Gaming on May 19, 2026 at 6:01am UTC, with no early access.

When does Forza Horizon 6 come out on PS5? Forza Horizon 6 comes to PS5 on Jan 26, 2027, with Premium early access from Jan 21, 2027.

Sources

• Forza Horizon 6 Now Available on Xbox Series X|S and PC, Playground Games, May 19, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 Early Access, Playground Games, May 14, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 Release Timing, Forza Support, May 13, 2026
• Early Access Rollout Infographic for all of our Platforms, Playground Games on Steam, May 13, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 Early Access Rollout Starts Now!, Playground Games on Steam, May 14, 2026
• "You're too early" message when trying to launch Forza Horizon 6, Forza Support, May 12, 2026
• Preload Forza Horizon 6 / Forza Horizon 6 is Verified on Steam Deck, Playground Games on Steam, May 12, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 Accidently Leaked on Steam, Thurrott, May 11, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 Reveal FAQ, Forza Support, Sep 25, 2025
• Forza Horizon 6: Answering the Big Questions About That Japan Setting, Xbox Wire, Sep 25, 2025
• Developer_Direct Returns January 22, Xbox Wire, Jan 8, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 Releases May 19 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, Playground Games on Steam, Jan 22, 2026
• 10 Incredible New Features Coming to Forza Horizon 6, Playground Games on Steam, Feb 9, 2026
• Experience Japan with Ray Tracing in Forza Horizon 6 on PC, Playground Games on Steam, Mar 25, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 - Official Initial Drive Gameplay, Playground Games on Steam, Apr 8, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 Achievements List, Playground Games on Steam, Apr 13, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 Welcomes More Players on January 26!, Playground Games, Oct 8, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 on PlayStation 5 FAQ, Forza Support, Oct 8, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6, Steam store
• Forza Horizon 6 - Official Launch Trailer, Forza, May 8, 2026 (video)
• Forza Horizon 6 - Official Gameplay Teaser Trailer, Forza, Jan 22, 2026 (video)
• Forza Horizon 6 - Official Teaser Trailer | Tokyo Game Show 2025, Forza, Sep 25, 2025 (video)
• PS5 Pre-Order Trailer | Forza Horizon 6, Forza, Oct 9, 2026 (video)