Forza Horizon 6 Hit by Major Leak: Unencrypted Steam Preload Exposed

Forza Horizon 6 has suffered a massive leak, with the full game reportedly made available through an unencrypted Steam preload. Over the weekend, 155GB of unencrypted files were spotted on SteamDB, four days before early access and nine days before the full launch. This allowed the game to be downloaded from piracy sites. The leak appears to stem from the preload, which normally encrypts files until the official release, when Steam pushes a decryption update. It seems both the preload and the decryption update went live early. While the damage is done, Microsoft may be trying to contain it: a Reddit thread detailing the piracy availability was removed by Reddit's Legal team. There are also reports of early streaming, which Microsoft will likely crack down on. IGN has reached out for comment. This is a major misstep for Microsoft, potentially costing the company and developer Playground Games. The highly anticipated racing game is set to launch on PC and Xbox, and on Game Pass, but Steam sales are expected to be significant. Currently, it's the second top-selling game by revenue on Steam and the third most wishlisted. Microsoft hasn't commented on the official unlock time or any impact on launch plans. The general release is May 19, with early access starting May 15.