According to recent reports, Forza Horizon 5 has sold approximately 2 million copies on PlayStation 5 within its first month on the platform an impressive feat for what was once an Xbox-exclusive franchise. The claim initially surfaced via the LinkedIn profile of a former Turn 10 Studios developer, igniting debate across the industry and highlighting a shifting dynamic in Xbox’s multiplatform strategy.
A Surprise Sales Milestone
The sales figure in question appeared on the LinkedIn page of Harrison Bolin, a former designer at Turn 10 Studios. Bolin wrote that he helped create “cross-platform feature designs enabling Forza Horizon 5 to sell two million units in one month on PS5 alone.” The line quickly spread across social media and industry press, with many pointing to it as a sign of how lucrative Xbox’s move toward broader distribution could become.
However, Bolin later clarified that the figure was not sourced from internal sales data but rather based on publicly available estimates from analytics firm Alinea. Even so, the data aligns closely with current market projections.
Third-Party Analytics Back It Up
According to Alinea Analytics, Forza Horizon 5 sold approximately 1.3 million units on PS5 by the end of May 2025. By early June, that number had climbed to over 2.2 million, generating an estimated $100 million USD in revenue for Microsoft on the PlayStation platform alone. While not directly verified by Xbox or PlayStation, these numbers provide compelling insight into the game’s surprising success on rival hardware.
This level of success is particularly notable given that Forza Horizon 5 originally launched in 2021 as a first-party Xbox exclusive and Game Pass headliner. Its arrival on PS5 in 2025 was part of Microsoft’s recent push to bring key titles to broader audiences, including other games like Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, and Hi-Fi Rush.
A Shift in Strategy – and Industry Norms
Microsoft has been rethinking its publishing strategy in the face of evolving player habits and rising development costs. The decision to bring Forza Horizon 5 to PS5 a console with over 60 million units sold appears to have paid off. Analysts argue that strong third-party-style sales from Xbox’s top-tier IPs could help Microsoft reinvest more into its games portfolio while reaching audiences previously out of reach.
“Forza on PS5 has easily made $100 million for Xbox,” analyst Mat Piscatella of Circana remarked. “That’s a clear win.”
The success of Forza Horizon 5 on a rival platform also raises questions about what could be next. Could Starfield, Halo Infinite, or even future Gears titles make their way to PlayStation platforms in the future?
What’s Next for Forza and Xbox?
With Forza Horizon 5 thriving on PS5 and Forza Motorsport also rumored to be heading to Sony’s console, it’s clear Microsoft sees an opportunity in leveraging its franchises beyond the Xbox ecosystem.
Phil Spencer and the Xbox leadership team have repeatedly said that their priority is “player choice” and “access to great games, wherever you are.” This new data suggests the move to a more agnostic publishing approach is not only ideologically aligned it’s financially sound.
While Microsoft hasn’t officially confirmed the 2 million unit figure, the momentum behind Forza Horizon 5’s PS5 performance is undeniable. What began as a bold experiment is now looking more and more like a blueprint for Xbox’s future one where its biggest hits might not be tied to a single platform, but instead thrive wherever gamers are playing.
With the numbers backing it up, Forza Horizon 5 on PS5 may very well be just the beginning.
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