Forza Horizon 6 Devs Denies Preload Error as Cause of Leak; Threatens Hardware Bans to Those Who Access the Game Early
Yesterday, word got out that Forza Horizon 6’s game files were accidentally uploaded on Steam without any encryption, which meant the game was playable well before its intended May 19 release date.
Today, the developers at Playground Games have finally issued a statement, though it’s more of a warning than anything else.
For starters, the studio has denied that this is a “pre-load issue.”
Forza Horizon 6 Leak Not a Pre-Load Issue Per Devs
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the official Playground Games account mentioned, “We are aware of reports that a build of Forza Horizon 6 has been obtained prior to its release and can confirm this is not the result of a pre-load issue.”
Not only that, but the devs threatened hardware bans too, stating, “We are taking strict enforcement action against any individuals found accessing this build including franchise-wide and hardware bans. We encourage fans to sit tight for the game’s release on May 19.”
In addition, the official SteamDB X handle also seemingly supports Playground Games’ claims that this isn’t a preload issue and that something more nefarious was involved. “Forza Horizon 6 was very likely leaked by someone with early access to the build (reviewer or similar),” the account claimed.
The SteamDB account further explained, “At around the same time, the file list appeared on SteamDB because someone (could be someone else) used our token dumper. SteamDB does not display or share keys, nor can it provide downloads.”
Of course, given how many people are seemingly already playing the game, there might be a lot of accounts getting banned very soon. Will Playground push through with it? We’ll know for sure in the coming days and weeks.
In the meantime, for those who want to be sure, I suggest just waiting it out. It’s just seven more days, right? Another game that’s now playable well ahead of its release date is LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Thanks to a retailer’s mistake, the game is now playable digitally for Xbox owners.
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