One of the most anticipated racing games of 2026 has had quite the rough week, and it has not even officially launched yet. Forza Horizon 6, the gorgeous open-world racer set across a sprawling recreation of Japan, has been leaked and cracked online after its PC build files were accidentally uploaded to Steam without any encryption. The result? A full 155 GB of completely playable game sitting out on the internet like an unlocked car in an empty parking lot, a full nine days before its official May 19, 2026 release date.
In This Article
What Exactly Happened
The chain of events started when Playground Games, the studio behind the Forza Horizon series, uploaded preload files to Steam to allow buyers of the game to download the content ahead of the official launch. Preloaded game files are, under normal circumstances, encrypted so that they cannot be launched until the official release window is unlocked. In this case, that critical encryption step was apparently skipped.
SteamDB, the popular database that tracks Steam depot updates, spotted the new Forza Horizon 6 depot almost immediately. The public file listing exposed over 5,000 entries, including the game’s main executable file “forzahorizon6.exe,” assorted DLLs, and media folders. The size of the exposed build sits at approximately 155.63 GiB on disk, which by all accounts is the complete retail version of the game.
By the time Playground Games noticed the blunder and re-encrypted the files on Steam, piracy communities had already downloaded, dumped, and distributed the build. Reports across forums and social media indicate the game is fully playable without any major restrictions, made significantly easier by the apparent absence of Denuvo or similarly robust DRM protection. Gameplay clips and screenshots have since flooded social media platforms, including YouTube, Reddit, and various gaming communities.
Premium Buyers Are Not Exactly Thrilled
Beyond the obvious financial headache for Microsoft and Playground Games, there is a quietly frustrated group of paying customers caught in the crossfire. Forza Horizon 6’s Premium Edition, priced at USD 119.99, includes four days of early access starting from May 15. Many players paid the premium specifically to play ahead of the standard launch window. When news broke that pirates were already racing through the streets of virtual Tokyo without spending a single penny, quite a few Premium Edition buyers took to forums to express their frustration, with some even considering refunds.
It is a somewhat awkward situation. People who paid extra for the privilege of early access are now watching unofficial players zip through the game days before even they can, which puts the value proposition of that premium pricing in a peculiar light.
A Pattern That Keeps Repeating Itself
Forza Horizon 6 is, unfortunately, not a unique case. Earlier this year, Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding 2 suffered a near-identical situation when approximately 113 GB of unencrypted PC build files were briefly accessible via Steam before the developers addressed the issue. Steam preloads, by design, require a human to make a conscious choice to apply encryption before the files go live. That human element remains the weakest link in a process that, when done correctly, is completely foolproof.
Gaming communities have noted that this is not even the first time a major Xbox or Microsoft-published title has slipped through without proper protection. It is starting to feel less like a rare mistake and more like a recurring gap in the release pipeline that major publishers still have not fully patched, metaphorically speaking.
What Forza Horizon 6 Actually Offers
For those waiting to experience the game legitimately, there is genuinely a lot to look forward to. Set across a fictionalised version of Japan spanning seven large regions and 74 districts, the game features over 550 cars at launch, including the 2025 GR GT Prototype as its cover vehicle. Tokyo’s urban streets are reportedly five times denser than the biggest built-up area in Forza Horizon 5, and the map stretches from neon-lit city blocks to the snow-covered Japanese Alps, with dedicated touge roads built specifically for drifting.
New features include a fog-of-war style map that fills in as you explore, a Collection Journal inspired by Japanese stamp-collecting culture, official Car Meets modelled on the legendary Daikoku Parking Area gatherings, and a fully customisable mountainside Estate where players can display their car collections. On the technical side, the PC version supports ray-traced global illumination, ray-traced reflections, and a new refraction-based shader for headlights and taillights. The game is launching on Xbox Series X/S, PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store, and through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on day one, with a PlayStation 5 version expected later in 2026.
Playground Games and Microsoft Yet to Respond
At the time of writing, neither Playground Games nor Microsoft has issued an official public statement about the leak. Reddit’s legal team is reportedly removing links to the cracked build in response to requests from Microsoft, but as anyone familiar with the internet knows, once files of this nature start spreading, the process is essentially impossible to fully contain. Expect legal action to follow once the official dust settles.
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The Bottom Line
Look, nobody at Playground Games wanted their biggest release of the year to become an accidental freebie for the internet. The developers have put years of work into crafting an authentic and breathtaking recreation of Japan, and it genuinely looks like one of the most visually impressive racing games ever made. It would be a shame if this costly oversight dented their sales numbers in any meaningful way. If you have been looking forward to this one, do the right thing and wait for May 19. The touge roads of Japan will still be there, and they will look a whole lot better when you play them legitimately.
