Forza Horizon 6's "Early Access" Spell Just Got Pricier, Even for Game Pass Wizards
AI Gaming News Author · kotaku ·
Xbox's *Forza Horizon 6* is hiking up its "early access" prices, charging even loyal Game Pass Ultimate subscribers more for a few days' head start, raising questions about publisher promises and the true value of premium editions.
Right, so you know that feeling when you're meticulously crafting a powerful spell, aiming for a grand reveal, and then someone comes along and tells you if you want to see it a bit sooner, you've just gotta chuck a few more gold pieces into the cauldron? That's kinda what Xbox and Playground Games just did with *Forza Horizon 6*, bless their cotton socks. It seems their "early access" offering for the upcoming open-world racer is hitting our digital wallets harder than ever, even for the most dedicated Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
As our mates over at Kotaku recently uncovered, this isn't just a minor tweak; it's a noticeable bump in what many of us playfully (or not so playfully) refer to as the "early access tax." This news, originally brought to light by Zack Zwiezen, dropped right after the latest Xbox Developer Direct, where we all got a shiny new deep dive into *Forza Horizon 6* and its release date. May 19th, mark your calendars! Unless, of course, you're willing to pay the premium to jump in four days earlier on May 15th.
Now, I'm a naturally curious sort, always wondering "what happens if..." and this pricing model certainly piqued my interest. Historically, these 'Premium Editions' have been the go-to for those who want to race ahead of the pack, grab a few extra goodies, and generally flex their digital muscles a bit sooner. For *Forza Horizon 5*, the equivalent Premium edition would set you back a cool $100 USD. For *Horizon 6*, however, that price tag has magically inflated to $120 USD. Bloody hell, that's a whole twenty quid jump!
But here's where it gets particularly spicy for the Xbox faithful. If you're one of those savvy wizards already subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate – which, let's be fair, is a pretty significant chunk of the dedicated Xbox player base – you'd typically just pay an upgrade fee to get that early access goodness. For *Horizon 5*, that upgrade was $50. Now? It's $60.
You might be thinking, "Well, Jeff, isn't *Forza Horizon 6* just a more expensive game overall?" And fair dinkum, you've got a point there. *Horizon 6*'s base game is launching at $70, whereas *Horizon 5* was a $60 affair. So, yes, some of that increase for the Premium Edition (and subsequently, the upgrade fee) can be chalked up to the standard base game price hike we've seen across the industry lately.
But even accounting for that, it still feels a bit... *much*, doesn't it? We're talking about Game Pass Ultimate subscribers here – the folks who are already paying a monthly fee, demonstrating their loyalty to the Xbox ecosystem, and enjoying a vast library of games, including first-party titles on day one. And yet, if they want to get their hands on *Forza Horizon 6* just a few days "early," they're essentially being asked to cough up the price of *another* full video game ($60) on top of their subscription. It's like paying extra for a fast travel potion, only to find out you've just unlocked the main quest five minutes before everyone else.
This brings me to a point that always gets my inner wizard's wand twitching. The whole notion of "early access." As the original Kotaku piece wisely highlighted, you aren't actually playing the game *early*. When *Forza Horizon 6* unlocks for Premium owners on May 15th, it's not some half-baked beta; it's the finished, fully tested, launch-ready game. Xbox and Playground Games have simply decided that a portion of their players will get it later unless they pay up. It’s less "early access" and more "standard access with an optional delay for the non-spenders." They’re holding the game for ransom, mate, plain and simple.
Remember when the promise of Game Pass was "day one access to every first-party Xbox game"? Ah, those were the days! It was a truly magical covenant between platform and player. While that specific phrase might still hold true for the *standard* release date, this tiered access model definitely feels like that ship has not only sailed but has probably been sunk by a Kraken and buried under several layers of digital sediment. The spirit of that promise, for those eager to jump in immediately, seems to have been quietly retired.
Of course, the optimistically chaotic part of me always looks for the silver lining, no matter how faint. The *Forza Horizon 6* Premium edition *does* include an extra car pack compared to *Horizon 5*'s offering. So, you know, there's *that*. More digital horsepower for your extra coin. Is it enough to justify the increased "tax"? Well, that's a question each player will have to ask their own inner economist.
This trend of pushing premium tiers and charging extra for early play isn't unique to Xbox or *Forza*, mind you. It's a pattern we're observing across the industry, a subtle shift in how publishers extract value. It's cleverly observant to note that if gamers continue to embrace these offerings, the industry will simply continue to push the envelope. It's the digital equivalent of a shopkeeper seeing everyone happily pay an extra shilling for a "priority queue" and then deciding to make the shilling two.
So, *Forza Horizon 6* looks absolutely stunning, set to take us on another breathtaking open-world racing adventure. But as we gear up for its launch, it's worth taking a moment to ponder what we're truly paying for. Is a four-day head start really worth the price of another game? Or are we, the players, inadvertently teaching the publishers that we're perfectly happy to pay more for what used to be a standard release, just with a dash of "early" sprinkled on top? The choice, as always, is yours, fellow adventurers.
*This article was inspired by original reporting by Zack Zwiezen for Kotaku.*
Tags: ForzaHorizon6, XboxGamePass, EarlyAccess, GamingIndustry, Monetization
Original article: kotaku