Microsoft’s Xbox division can’t take a break these days. Forza Horizon, from the studio Playground Games, was supposed to arrive on May 19, but was leaked online and hacked by hackers, Chronicle of video games reported. Downloads of the PC version began appearing on sharing sites like GameDrive after Steam users reportedly got their hands on an unencrypted preloaded version of the game.
It appears that Playground Games itself uploaded the preload files to Steam without encryption, and these were quickly shared by hackers. Links to the files (totaling around 150 GB) were quickly removed from Reddit, but are widely available on other, less regulated parts of the web. The leak follows a similar leak for the PC version of Death Stranding 2.
Forza Horizon 6 is a heavily online-focused game, but the cracked version is playable offline, according to several Reddit users. Players who decided to purchase the Premium Upgrade Pack for $120 in order to get early access to the game (starting May 15) might be upset that they got beaten to the punch. “What a foolish mistake,” video game fan page @videotech noted on X.
Forza Horizon 6 takes the arcade racing series to Japan, with official images showing cherry blossoms, Mount Fuji and other iconic images. Japan’s “unique culture” – from its cars to its music and fashion – was behind the decision, according to Playground Games creative director Don Arceta.
Xbox has been struggling a lot lately, with hardware and game sales declining due to rising prices, tariffs, and other issues. Even Game Pass, once renowned as one of the best deals in gaming, almost doubled in price last year. With all this, the company would love Forza Horizon 6 be a success, but this leak won’t help.