Microsoft originally planned to officially release "Forza Horizon 6" on May 19, 2026. Under normal circumstances, game developers such as Microsoft would release the game to the Steam platform for pre-download in advance. Now it seems that due to an operational error, Playground Studio directly released the game installation package without DRM encryption protection.
The main development team for Horizon 6 is Playground Game Development Studio, and Microsoft's Xbox Game Team is responsible for publishing. However, it is unclear whether the source of the operational error is Playground Game Studio or Microsoft Xbox Game Studios. This situation may cause losses to Microsoft and the development team.
Unencrypted installation packages are spreading rapidly:
The Steam platform allows developers to upload games in advance and download them in advance for interested players. Under normal circumstances, the installation packages of the preload mechanism are encrypted. When the game is officially released, Steam will push an update to decrypt the file, so that players can immediately enter the game without downloading after receiving the update.
The problem this time seems to be that the development team released the preloaded files and decrypted files at the same time, which means that players can directly download the game installation package and enter the game without waiting for the official release to receive updates. Due to the lack of necessary DRM protection, after a player releases the installation package, other players can also directly download the installation package to play the game.
There are multiple popular posts on Reddit explaining how to play Horizon 6 on pirated websites. However, the Reddit legal team has deleted these popular posts in batches, possibly due to receiving DMCA notices from Microsoft. Some of the less popular posts are still spreading.
Early entry into the game is banned until 9999:
For players who download the installation package and enter the game in advance, Playground Game Studio is also taking extremely severe punitive measures, including comprehensive bans and hardware bans. The studio said it encourages fans to wait patiently for Horizon 6 to be officially released on May 19.
What does hardware ban mean: Hardware ban refers to reading the motherboard hardware information for banning. Usually such hardware information cannot be changed, so even if the system is reinstalled, the player cannot continue to enter Horizon 6 unless the player replaces the motherboard or uses some hardware ID spoofer.
Players who entered the game in advance are currently banned until December 31, 9999. This is actually a permanent ban. Therefore, for most players, it is best to continue to wait patiently for the game to be released, otherwise they will lose more than they gain after being banned by the hardware.