Nine days before Forza Horizon 6’s official release, around 155 GB of unencrypted game files appeared on Steam – and the internet noticed immediately. Within hours, the full game had been cracked and was spreading across piracy sites. For Playground Games and Microsoft, it was a spectacular own goal right at the finish line.
What Happened
On May 10, 2026, players attempting to pre-load Forza Horizon 6 on Steam discovered that the 155 GB preload files had been uploaded without encryption. This meant that anyone willing to dig into the game’s files could access the full build – and that is exactly what happened. The crack came quickly, with reports of the game being fully playable offline within hours of the discovery.
The leak hit at the worst possible time. Premium Edition owners were just five days away from early access on May 15, with the full release following on May 19 for everyone else.
Playground Games Pushes Back on the “Preload” Narrative
Rather than simply acknowledging a preload blunder, Playground Games issued a statement that pushed back on the explanation: “This is not the result of a pre-load issue.” The developer confirmed that a build of the game had been obtained prior to release but declined to elaborate further on how. Some reporting suggested a reviewer’s Steam key or build may have been the actual source of the leak – which would explain why the studio was keen to distance itself from the “unencrypted preload” narrative.
What Playground Games was unambiguous about: enforcement. Anyone found accessing the leaked build faces “strict enforcement action” including franchise-wide bans – potentially covering other Forza titles, not just Horizon 6.
About Forza Horizon 6
Forza Horizon 6 is set in Japan, a location fans have been requesting for years. Developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft, the game launches with over 550 cars and features a customisable mountainside estate in rural Japan. It releases May 19 on Xbox Series X/S and PC via the Microsoft Store and Steam, and is available day one on Xbox Game Pass.
The previous entry, Forza Horizon 5, became the biggest launch in Xbox Game Studios history with over 10 million players in its first week. Playground Games will be hoping that a leaked offline crack does not take too big a bite out of that record – though for most players, the official release is only days away anyway.
