"We are taking strict enforcement action": Microsoft and Xbox hardware ban a Forza Horizon 6 pirate for 8,000 years after the disastrous Steam leak, threaten more hammer swings

One of the biggest Xbox games of the year, Forza Horizon 6, is now just a week away from its May 19 release date, with Early Access to the title unlocking this week for Premium Edition owners on May 15. It's a time of widespread excitement and hype for what's expected to be one of 2026's best games, and an Xbox Game Pass hit too — but it's been marred by quite a disastrous leak of the Steam version of the title.

On Sunday, Xbox and developer Playground Games uploaded preload files for Forza Horizon 6 to Steam, but did so without encryption. This presumably led to pirates downloading and cracking the game and then leaking it early, enabling people to play the highly anticipated arcade racer early and for free on PC if they're willing to go digging for the build.

Of course, Microsoft was quick to correct the error and encrypt the build of the game that was uploaded to Steam, but the damage was already done, and cracked versions of Forza Horizon 6 are now out on the web. For at least one person that installed and played it, though, the banhammer has come down from the publisher.

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As reported in a now-deleted post on the Forza Horizon subreddit, one fan who downloaded and played the build was hit with a ban for "cheating/unallowed modding," with an expiration date of 12/31/9999. That's, uh, checks notes, a ban length of nearly 8,000 years.

That's pretty rough — but rougher still is the fact that it's a hardware ID (HWID) ban, meaning it's not something you can easily get around by using a different account. As the name of the ban suggests, it works at the hardware level, preventing any account from accessing Forza Horizon 6 on the computer it landed on.

While there are HWID spoofers out there that attempt to bypass bans like this, I don't recommend trying to use them, as they're not always reliable and could be used as a vehicle to deliver malware to your system. The only surefire way to get around a HWID ban is to get a completely new motherboard for your PC; that's expensive, especially with how pricey PC components are lately.

Notably, as I was writing this article, Xbox and Playground Games actually commented on this issue publicly, asserting that the leaked build didn't come from Steam preload files (this seems unlikely if you ask me, given the timing of things) but vowing to strike anyone found with access to this build with "franchise-wide and hardware bans."

"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," wrote the developer. "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."

I'm not going to tell you what to do, but given the risk of hardware bans and potentially even getting banned from the entire Forza franchise, I strongly recommend that if you want to play Forza Horizon 6, you just wait a week to do so. It's got an MSRP of $69.99, but it's just $54.39 at Loaded. The $119.99 Premium Edition with Early Access included is also $92.99 at Loaded.

Are you looking forward to playing Forza Horizon 6? Let me know in the comments, and in our poll.

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Forza Horizon 6 (Xbox/PC): was $69.99 now $54.39 at loaded.com

Playground Games' Forza Horizon 6 looks to be the amazing sequel that everyone was hoping Forza Horizon 5 would get, and the Xbox/PC versions of the game are discounted right now ahead of the game's imminent launch. Take advantage!

Deluxe Edition: $99.99 at Amazon
Premium Edition: $92.99 at Loaded

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