Forza Horizon 5 is shaping up to have the most successful launch in the history of the franchise, boasting 800,000 players in early access. The Forza racing franchise has become one of the crown jewels of Microsoft’s gaming library since the franchise launched near the end of the original Xbox’s lifespan in 2005. The franchise has since split into a pair of distinct racing series, with Forza Motorsport staying on the racing simulation side of the road, while the Horizon series embraced a wilder, more arcade-racing feel and presentation, defined by its more exotic locations; for instance, Forza Horizon 5 takes place in Mexico.
Forza was initially conceived as a direct competitor to Sony’s Gran Turismo franchise, which was at the time undoubtedly the king of racing simulators for console gamers. It has since grown a dedicated fanbase, with over a dozen titles and millions of copies sold. Forza Horizon 4 would go on to become the best-selling game on the Xbox One, and was the only game to sell over 10 million copies on the console. It would at first seem that Forza Horizon 5 has quite the hill to climb in order to match its predecessors, but even though it’s one of the games coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one, it appears players couldn’t wait until release to put the pedal to the metal.
First reported by VideoGamesChronicle, Forza Horizon 5 is already seeing nearly a million racers take to the streets. A quick look at the in-game leaderboards shows that “some 800,000 users across PC and Xbox” have already purchased the game. There are two versions of the title granting players a week of early access before the game’s official launch on November 9th: a $100 Premium Edition which comes with the game, two DLC expansions, and a new car every week for nearly eight months, or a $45 Add-On pack for Game Pass users featuring that same extra content. This means early access sales of the title have netted Microsoft and developer Playground Games “between $36 million and $79 million before its general release next week.”
It’s looking likely that Forza Horizon 5 will have the strongest launch in the history of the franchise. Its predecessor, Horizon 4, currently holds that spot, having sold 2 million copies in its first week of release. The leadup to release has been extremely positive, as the game currently sits as one of the best-reviewed games of the year, with many considering it a legitimate contender for Game of the Year.
Horizon 5 kicks off a busy holiday season for Microsoft. While November is packed with many of 2021’s biggest releases, the publisher will be bookending the season with a second exclusive title, which is also a very highly anticipated release; Halo Infinite. With Forza Horizon 5 leading the charge into the final months of 2021, the season appears to be starting off with a bang.
