Microsoft (MSFT) stock was up on Thursday as gamers prepared for the early access launch of Forza Horizon 6. The game will launch early on PC and Xbox Series X|S on May 15, with the full release set for May 19, 2026. This also has players on Sony’s (SONY) PlayStation 5 wondering when the game will come to their consoles. Unfortunately, it won’t be at the same time as the Xbox and PC release.
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Microsoft said that it does intend to launch Forza Horizon 6 on PS5. However, the company hasn’t yet set a firm release date for that version of the game. Instead, it simply stated that the game is expected to hit PS5 sometime later in 2026. Xbox has reportedly been shifting its operations to return to exclusive console releases of its games. This doesn’t appear to have affected Forza Horizon 6, though that could change since the game doesn’t yet have a release date on PS5.
Forza Horizon 6 will also be available through Microsoft’s subscription services, Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. This is part of Xbox’s strategy to release new games on these services to bolster recurring revenue, rather than one-time purchases of a game.
Microsoft Stock Movement Today
Microsoft stock was up 0.81% on Thursday, but remained down 15.53% year-to-date. The stock has also fallen 10.58% over the past 12 months.
With today’s news came muted trading of MSFT stock, as some 13.73 million shares changed hands, compared to a three-month average daily trading volume of about 31.77 million shares.
Is Microsoft Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Microsoft is Strong Buy, based on 33 Buy and two Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average MSFT stock price target of $559.98, representing a potential 37.12% upside for the shares.
