FH6 on Game Pass — Standard Edition, Upgrades & Cloud Play
FH6 launches day one on Xbox Game Pass, same as every Forza Horizon since FH4. This is simultaneously the best deal in gaming and the source of more confusion than any other topic in the Forza community. What edition do you actually get? Can you upgrade without buying the full game? Do Game Pass saves transfer to Steam? What happens when FH6 eventually leaves the service? I've been through the Game Pass-to-Forza pipeline across three games now and I'll walk through every scenario.
Which Edition Comes With Game Pass
Game Pass includes the Standard Edition of FH6. Base game, no Car Pass, no VIP, no expansions, no Welcome Pack. You get the full 600+ car roster base game, the complete map, all story content, and access to online multiplayer (with Game Pass Ultimate or Core). What you don't get: the 42 Car Pass cars, the VIP credit bonus and weekly super wheelspins, the two major expansions when they release, and early access. The Standard Edition on Game Pass is identical to buying the Standard Edition outright — same content, same limitations, same progression.
Game Pass Core ($9.99/month) includes online multiplayer but no day-one releases, so FH6 is not included. Game Pass Ultimate ($16.99/month) includes everything: day-one releases, online multiplayer, cloud gaming, EA Play, and Perks. Game Pass PC ($11.99/month) includes day-one releases and EA Play but not cloud gaming or console access. If you're playing FH6 on Game Pass, you're almost certainly on Ultimate or PC. Both are correct for FH6.
Premium Add-Ons Bundle — Upgrade Without Buying the Full Game
This is the smartest piece of the FH6 monetization model. The Premium Add-Ons Bundle ($34.99) upgrades your Standard Edition (including the Game Pass version) to the full Premium experience. You get: VIP Membership, Car Pass (all 42 cars), both expansion DLCs when released, and the Welcome Pack. It's everything in Premium Edition minus the base game, which you already have through Game Pass.
The math works out like this: Game Pass Ultimate for 6 months = $102. Premium Add-Ons Bundle = $34.99. Total: $136.99 for 6 months of FH6 with all content. Buying Premium Edition outright: $99.99. So if you'd subscribe to Game Pass anyway for other games, the Add-Ons Bundle is a $35 upgrade for full FH6 content. If FH6 is the only reason you have Game Pass, buying Premium outright saves you $37 plus the subscription cost beyond 6 months.
Critical detail: the Premium Add-Ons Bundle is tied to your Microsoft account, not your Game Pass subscription. If you buy it and later cancel Game Pass, you lose access to the base game but keep the DLC — meaning if you buy FH6 Standard on sale later, your DLC reactivates. If you buy the Add-Ons Bundle on Xbox and also play on PC through Game Pass, the DLC follows your account and works on both platforms. This is the Play Anywhere benefit of the Microsoft Store ecosystem.
Save File Compatibility — The Steam Problem
Game Pass (Microsoft Store) saves do NOT transfer to Steam. They are completely separate save files stored on entirely different cloud systems. Your 500-car garage, your 200 hours of progress, your seasonal exclusives — none of it moves from Microsoft Store to Steam or vice versa. This is not a Forza limitation. It's a platform separation enforced by Microsoft and Valve. No workaround exists, and none will ever exist.
The reverse is also true: if you start on Steam and later switch to Game Pass, you start from scratch. This is the single most important thing to understand before committing to either platform. If you think you might ever want to own FH6 permanently on Steam, start on Steam from day one. If you're comfortable staying in the Microsoft ecosystem forever, Game Pass + Add-Ons Bundle is cheaper and gives you Play Anywhere between Xbox and PC.
Cross-save between Xbox and PC Game Pass does work. Your progress syncs seamlessly between Xbox console and Windows PC as long as you're signed into the same Microsoft account. Start a race on Xbox, finish it on PC, the progress syncs instantly. This is the killer feature of the Microsoft Store version and the main reason to choose it over Steam if you own both an Xbox and a gaming PC.
Cloud Gaming (xCloud) — How FH6 Plays Streaming
FH6 is available on Xbox Cloud Gaming for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. You can stream the full game to a phone, tablet, low-end laptop, or even a smart TV with the Xbox app. No install required. Cloud gaming runs the Xbox Series X version of FH6 at up to 1080p 60fps, and the input lag on a good connection is roughly 30-40ms — noticeable if you're used to native play, but entirely playable for everything except competitive online racing.
For single-player content, cloud gaming is genuinely fine. The Festival Playlist weekly challenges, story missions, casual driving — none of it demands frame-perfect inputs. For online racing, cloud gaming puts you at a disadvantage. That 30-40ms of added latency means you're reacting to braking points and other drivers a fraction of a second behind everyone else. In B-class racing where margins are tight, that's enough to lose positions. For convoy cruises and casual multiplayer, it's fine. For ranked or competitive lobbies, install the game locally.
Cloud gaming also works as a test-drive tool. Before committing to a 150GB install, stream FH6 for an hour to confirm it runs well on your hardware or to check if you even enjoy the game. A Game Pass Ultimate sub gives you unlimited cloud streaming — use it to demo games before downloading.
Game Pass Ultimate Perks for FH6
Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get monthly FH6 Perks: typically a free car, a handful of wheelspins, and occasionally credits (100K-250K). These are claimed through the Game Pass Perks gallery in the Xbox app or the Game Pass section on console. Perks are time-limited — usually available for 30-60 days — and must be claimed manually. They don't auto-redeem. If you miss a month, you miss that month's Perk.
Historical Perk values (from FH5 data): cars given through Perks are typically mid-tier Autoshow models worth 50K-200K credits, not rare exclusives. The wheelspins and credits are the real value. Over a year, Perks are worth roughly 3-5M credits in total — not game-changing but free, so claim them. Check the Perks gallery on the first of every month.
What Happens When FH6 Leaves Game Pass
Forza Horizon games typically stay on Game Pass for 4-5 years. FH4 launched on Game Pass in October 2018 and was delisted (removed from sale entirely, not just Game Pass) in December 2024 — that's 6 years. FH5 still on Game Pass as of 2026, 4+ years and counting. So FH6 leaving Game Pass is not something you need to worry about anytime soon.
When FH6 does eventually leave Game Pass, two things happen: 1) You lose access to the base game unless you've purchased it. 2) Any DLC you bought (Premium Add-Ons Bundle, individual car packs) stays on your account — buy the base game later and everything reactivates. Microsoft also offers a Game Pass subscriber discount (typically 20% off) to buy games before they leave the service. When the "leaving soon" notification appears, you'll have roughly 2 weeks to buy FH6 at the discounted price and keep everything.
Your save file remains intact. It lives in the Microsoft cloud tied to your account. Buy the game a year after it leaves Game Pass and your progress is still there. You don't lose anything except access to the base game during the gap between the Game Pass departure and your purchase.
Game Pass Core vs Ultimate — Online Play Differences
To play FH6 online (Horizon Open, convoy multiplayer, auction house, rivals leaderboards, Festival Playlist), you need either Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate. Core ($9.99/month) gives you online multiplayer and a small library of 25+ games — no FH6. Ultimate ($16.99/month) gives you online multiplayer, the full Game Pass library including FH6, cloud gaming, EA Play, and Perks. If you only care about online play and own FH6 outright, Core is enough. If you want FH6 through Game Pass, Ultimate is required.
The most cost-efficient path for a dedicated FH6 player: buy FH6 Premium Edition outright ($99.99), subscribe to Game Pass Core ($9.99/month) for online access. Total first-year cost: $99.99 + $119.88 = $219.87. Versus Game Pass Ultimate all year: $203.88. Nearly identical. The Premium Edition route means you own the game forever. The Ultimate route means you get 400+ other games. Pick based on whether FH6 is your only game or one of many.
Pro tip for PC players: online multiplayer on PC does NOT require Game Pass Core or Ultimate. It's free on PC. The subscription requirement for online play only applies to Xbox consoles. On PC, you can buy FH6 Standard on the Microsoft Store for $69.99 and play online with no subscription at all. This makes PC the cheaper platform for dedicated FH6 multiplayer players.