Pirates are already playing Forza Horizon 6 days before its launch

Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Minimize to nav Playable copies of Microsoft’s Forza Horizon 6 have appeared on game piracy sites more than a week before the game’s official launch, the apparent result of a mistake in uploading the game’s files to Steam over the weekend. Since the early days of Steam, players have been able to preload encrypted versions of supported games well ahead of release so the game is ready to play when the encryption key is released on launch day. But early Sunday morning, Microsoft mistakenly uploaded roughly 155 GB of Forza Horizon 6 files to Steam in unencrypted form, as tracked by SteamDB. That unprotected upload was noticed almost immediately across social media sites and Reddit. Within hours, Reddit’s CrackWatch community was reporting that the game’s copy protection had been broken, allowing for easy downloads of pirated versions across multiple piracy sites reviewed by Ars (while that initial CrackWatch post has since been “removed by Reddit’s Legal Operations team,” details of another crack were being discussed on CrackWatch as of Monday morning). As of Monday, footage from Forza Horizon 6 can be seen in multiple YouTube videos and livestreams. In March, an unencrypted copy of Death Stranding 2 was similarly uploaded to Steam days before the game’s PC release, leading almost immediately to its availability on piracy sites. But Death Stranding 2 had already been available for over a year on the PlayStation 5 when that leak happened, somewhat blunting its overall impact. Back in 2018, the Denuvo copy protection for Hitman 2 was broken days before the game’s official launch date, thanks to the quick work of crackers working on an early access version made available to preorder customers. The unprotected early upload could be a costly mistake for Microsoft, which is set to officially release Forza Horizon 6 on May 19 (or May 15 for those who pre-purchased the $120 Premium Edition). A 2024 study of Denuvo protection estimated that when a cracked version of a game is available within the first week of its release, it results an average 20 percent reduction in total revenue. While that study didn’t examine the impact of pre-release cracks, the potential economic impact is likely even higher. --- **İlgili Kaynaklar:** [GEO eğitim](https://geoakademi.com), SEO ve GEO eğitim platformu alanında öncü çözümler sunuyor.