Xbox Game Pass Latest Freebie Is An Open-World 2026 GOTY Contender

Typically, Microsoft's record with its in-house Day One releases on Game Pass has been a lot of swinging and a lot of missing.

With the exception of Starfield, the publisher has suffered losses on their Day One releases to the point of cutting back on adding its games to the subscription service and reducing the price for the everyday gamer.

Instead, Game Pass will shift focus to allow shadow drops like Hi-Fi Rush to carry the service.

But, Xbox Games Studios' swansong with this release method has gone down as its most successful yet, with an open-world freebie being slated as a Game of the Year 2026 contender.

Forza Horizon 6 tipped as a GOTY contender

A crown held by Astro Bot and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in recent years, Xbox Game Studios has launched a serious contender for Game of the Year 2026 as Forza Horizon 6 has landed in an early access stage on Game Pass with a resounding reception.

Amid some huge releases already, such as Pokémon Pokopia, Resident Evil Requiem, and Crimson Desert, the new Xbox release has screeched past the impressive catalogue to take first place on this year's Metacritic scores.

Xbox Game Studios

Sitting pretty on a whopping score of 92/100, based on 68 Critic Reviews, Forza Horizon 6 has quickly been dubbed the best title of the year so far.

In our review, we wrote: "As soon as you fire up Forza Horizon 6, it’s a pure treat for your eyes and straight off the bat, it’s probably one of the most visually striking video games you’ve seen."

This feeling has been echoed by a plethora of critics throughout the industry.

The racing game instantly becomes Xbox Game Studios' second-best title ever (bettered only by the 2000 Nintendo 64 game Perfect Dark, with the studio, Rare, being acquired by Microsoft two years after its release), and is the biggest in-house Game Pass release to date - a huge win for the subscription service.

GOTY 2026 has some stern competition

While it is already a shoo-in for the best Xbox release of the year, as far as the wider industry is concerned, there's still some serious competition for Forza Horizon 6 in its race for a GOTY accolade.

Namely, the looming giant that is GTA 6 is expected to be the game at the top of most critics' lists, if it isn't delayed further.

Elsewhere, 007 First Light, The Blood of the Dawnwalker, and Marvel’s Wolverine will just be a few mainstream games looking to find themselves in the GOTY conversation.

Still, Forza Horizon 6 has gotten out ahead of the pack, and as most drivers know, getting out of slipstream range early is the best thing you can do to ensure you cross the line in first place.

Read Next: Forza Horizon 6's Perfect Open-World Is A Worthy Match For Crimson Desert And GTA 6