Forza Horizon 6 has not officially launched yet, but its rollout has already hit a very ugly turn. Over the weekend, a preview version of the game leaked online and became available to download for free almost ten days before release. Playground Games denies that the leak came from a pre-download file issue and says it will take strict action against anyone who accesses the unofficial version. At least one player has already learned what that means: a ban lasting until December 31, 9999.

Forza Horizon 6 is the biggest release of the month and one of Microsoft’s most important first-party games of the year, but its final stretch before launch has turned messy. During the past weekend, a preview build of the game leaked online, allowing some users to download and play it almost ten days before the official release. For Playground Games, this is more than a minor inconvenience. It could affect revenue, damage the launch conversation, and drag community attention away from the game itself before it even reaches paying players.

The timing is especially awkward because one of the main benefits of the Premium Edition was supposed to be four days of early access. If someone paid extra for that privilege while others are already playing an unauthorized leaked version even earlier, it is easy to understand why the reaction has been bitter. Some outlets chose not to report on the leak in order to avoid encouraging piracy, but the news still spread quickly across social media. Once players started talking about Forza Horizon 6 being available early, the story was impossible to contain.

One claim that gained traction online was that the leak had been caused by an error from Playground Games itself while handling the pre-download files. The studio has denied that version of events and published an official statement on its social media channels: “We are aware of reports that a version of Forza Horizon 6 has been leaked ahead of its official release and can confirm that this is not the result of an issue related to early downloading. We will be taking strict action against anyone who accesses this version of the game, including hardware bans that will affect all games in the franchise. We encourage fans to wait patiently for the game’s release on May 19.”

An 8,000-Year Ban And A Lot Of Anger

At least one player who accessed Forza Horizon 6 early has already been banned, although the exact reason is not entirely clear from the outside. The person in question is a content creator who uploaded footage of the pirated version to their YouTube channel and also uses programs such as Cheat Engine to modify games. That makes it hard to know whether the ban was applied because they played early, because they altered the game without authorization, because they uploaded footage, or because of some combination of all three. What is clear is the length of the punishment: the ban lasts until December 31, 9999, meaning the player is blocked for the next 7,974 years.

The community has not exactly taken the situation calmly. Many players had hoped that the leak would push Playground Games or Microsoft to move the release date forward, at least for paying customers, but there is currently no sign of that happening. One user summed up the frustration sharply: “What’s the point of paying €120 for early access to a game when someone is playing it for free before me?” That is more than an angry post. It is a real problem for the perceived value of the premium edition, whose early access perk suddenly looks far less impressive.

Another part of the argument concerns the source of the leak. Some players are accusing the studio of lying and insist that the problem did come from the pre-download version of the game. Playground Games, however, has officially rejected that explanation and does not appear ready to change its position. As a result, the final days before Forza Horizon 6 launches are not being dominated by cars, tracks, or visuals, but by piracy, bans, angry customers, and a publisher trying to drag the conversation back toward a game that should have been one of the year’s easiest wins.

Source: 3DJuegos