[UPDATED: Statements] Forza Horizon 6 Dev Drops Multi-Millennial Ban Hammer To Cheater Before The Game Has Even Released

Updated 04:57, 12/5: In response to rumors of data leak originating from SteamDB (third-party Steam database maintainer), the statement reads as follows:

Forza Horizon 6 was very likely leaked by someone with early access to the build (reviewer or similar).

At around the same time, the file list appeared on SteamDB because someone (could be someone else) used our token dumper. SteamDB does not display or share keys, nor can it provide downloads.

Updated 02:38, 12/5: Playground Games has released a statement regarding the leak:

We are aware of reports that a build of Forza Horizon 6 has been obtained prior to its release and can confirm this is not the result of a pre-load issue.

We are taking strict enforcement action against any individuals found accessing this build including franchise-wide and hardware bans. We encourage fans to sit tight for the game’s release on May 19.

Original article follows.

One YouTube creator/user who goes by the name of DVS Squad has been handed a whopping 7,973 years’ worth of ban on Forza Horizon 6, reportedly due to utilizing cheats, plus accessing and leaking the game just days before official release (which isn’t doing the user any favors, either).

Forza Horizon 6 Officially Has Its First Banned User

Just yesterday, Forza Horizon 6 developer Playground Games has had a blunder on their part by accidentally leaking 155GB of the game’s files in unencrypted (and DRM-less) form to Steam for preloading, allowing hackers to grab them and pirate the game before the title is released, which happens this Friday for early access players. While Microsoft nor its developers have commented on the situation so far, and it looks like they’re busy playing whack-a-mole with leakers and generally anyone that has touched the game before they’re allowed to.

With seemingly no regard to the most obvious ToS rules, DVS Squad has proceeded to publish in-game footage of the game, allegedly with cheating tools tagging alongside too – two crimes in one go is more than enough reasons for Playground to hand out the most extreme ban they can offer, which is a HWID (hardware ID) that ends exactly on 31 December 9999. FYI, HWID ban effectively blocks the offending PC hardware from ever accessing the game for as long as the ruling is enforced, even when the operating system is reinstalled.

It is then unsurprising that the developers want to limit the damage as the game is day before launch, so this ban may as well serve as a warning for those who got too excited to access the game too early. Still, as far as DVS Squad is concerned, they do consider the “accolade” of being the first-ever user banned in Forza Horizon 6 as one that they’ll “wear with pride”.

In case you missed it, Forza Horizon 6 is bringing its car-and-music-festival to the famed automotive powerhouse in Japan after many years of asking from its community, and it’s set to be one of the largest launches of the franchise after a 5-year period since the previous Mexico-based release. Early access players can access the virtual Japan this Friday (15 May), with the rest joining next Tuesday (19 May).

Pokdepinion: Just wait for a few more days, everyone!