Forza Horizon 6 appears to have leaked online
Pirated copies have already started appearing
The PC version of Forza Horizon 6 appears to have been leaked online, ahead of its full release.
The much anticipated sixth game in the Forza Horizon series is set for general release on May 19, with early access available from May 15 for players who buy the Premium Edition.
However, as noted by numerous sources online, including the Gaming Leaks and Rumours Reddit page, the PC version has been acquired, cracked and made available for download by pirates.
While the main reason for the leak has not been fully and officially confirmed, the leading theory is that the pre-loaded version of the game was uploaded to Steam‘s backend on Sunday by a developer, but was done so without any encryption.
This reportedly made it possible for certain individuals to download the files and apply a crack to make the game playable.
VGC has seen the game available for download on certain websites, but has not downloaded it and therefore cannot verify its validity.
However, other players have started posting screenshots on social media and videos on YouTube of them playing the game, while others are sharing advice on Reddit on how to bypass certain crashes and freezes, suggesting that while the crack appears to result in an unstable game, the leak is at least legitimate.
Microsoft has yet to comment on the situation, but the news will no doubt be frustrating given how important a release Forza Horizon 6 is for the company.
The previous game, Forza Horizon 5, received a Metacritic score of 92 and the sixth game – which bring the series to Japan after years of player requests – will aim for similarly widespread critical acclaim.
In our hands-on preview of Forza Horizon 6 we said the game was shaping up to be another exceptional open-world racer.
“If the rest of the game is as good as the small taste I’ve played, we’re potentially looking at one of the year’s best,” we said. “We’ll have a review of the full game nearer to its release, but at this stage everything’s on track to give Forza Horizon 5 a run for its money and take over pole position as the best open-world racing game around.”
