Uh-oh! Forza Horizon 6 hit a major speed bump after unencrypted preload files were mistakenly released on Steam, making the game available for download on piracy sites. This matters because leaks like this can hurt sales and spoil the game for fans eagerly waiting for the official launch.
According to reports, a whopping 155 gigabytes of Forza Horizon 6 files appeared on SteamDB well ahead of schedule—four days before early access and nine days before the full release. The preload files are supposed to be encrypted, only unlocking when the game goes live. But it seems like someone hit the wrong button, letting the decryption update slip out early. This has left Microsoft scrambling to control the situation, with Reddit posts about the leak being removed by the platform’s Legal Operations team.
The leak is a big oops for Microsoft and Playground, the developers behind this much-anticipated racing game. Despite the hiccup, fans are still revving up for the release. Forza Horizon 6 is currently the second top-selling game by revenue on Steam and the third most-wishlisted, hinting at a strong launch despite the setback. While Microsoft hasn’t yet confirmed if this leak will affect the official release timeline, it’s something to keep an eye on. If you’re a Forza fan, you might want to stay tuned for any updates on how this might impact the game’s rollout.
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