Playground Games has officially responded to the massive Forza Horizon 6 leak that surfaced earlier this week. The developer confirmed the leak happened but clarified it was not caused by the Steam preload issues many originally suspected. Instead, the studio believes someone with early access to the build leaked the game approximately ten days before its May 19 release (check live countdown timer).

FH6 Leak Not a Preload Problem

Playground Games stated on Twitter (X) addressing the leak directly. The studio confirmed they are aware of reports of an early Forza Horizon 6 build being obtained and specifically noted this is not the result of a preload issue. This contradicts initial speculation that blamed Steam for accidentally uploading unencrypted files.

SteamDB, a database that tracks Steam games and updates, also clarified the situation. According to SteamDB's official Twitter account, Forza Horizon 6 was very likely leaked by someone with early access to the build such as a reviewer or similar individual. The file list appeared on SteamDB around the same time because someone used their token dumper tool. SteamDB emphasized that they do not display or share keys, nor can they provide downloads.

This means the leak likely came from within the review or press pipeline rather than a technical error during the preload process. Someone with legitimate early access appears to have distributed the build which then spread across piracy communities.

Strict Enforcement Action Coming

Playground Games is not taking the leak lightly. The studio announced they are taking strict enforcement action against any individuals found accessing the leaked build. This enforcement includes franchise-wide bans preventing players from accessing any Forza game in the future. Even more severe, the studio also threatened hardware bans, which would block entire consoles or PCs from playing Forza titles regardless of which account logs in.

Hardware bans represent one of the harshest punishments developers can implement. Unlike account bans which only affect specific profiles, hardware bans permanently block devices from connecting to game servers. This means even creating a new account or buying the game legitimately would not restore access on banned hardware. According to the images going around someone has already been banned for nearly 8000 years in the future.

The warning targets both the original leaker and anyone who downloaded and played the leaked version. With thousands potentially having accessed the files, enforcing bans across everyone who touched the build could prove difficult. However, the threat alone may discourage some players from risking their entire Forza library and hardware access.

Playground Games closed their statement by encouraging fans to sit tight for the game's official release on May 19. Premium Edition owners still get early access on May 15 while standard edition buyers can play starting May 19. The studio hopes legitimate players will avoid the leaked build and experience the game properly at launch.