A PC version of Forza Horizon 6 was leaked yesterday. At the time, we assumed this happened because someone from Steam published the game early on Steam. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Instead, Playground Games has confirmed that the leaker was a reviewer, an influencer, or an industry insider.
As Playground Games specifically said, the leak was not the result of a pre-load issue. The team is also taking strict enforcement action against any individuals found accessing this build, including 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.
We are taking strict enforcement action against any individuals found accessing this build including franchise-wide and…
— Playground Games (@WeArePlayground) May 11, 2026
SteamDB chimed in and shared some additional details about the situation. When the game leaked, its file list appeared on SteamDB because someone used the token dumper. SteamDB does not display or share keys, nor can it provide downloads. So, the assumption that this was caused by a pre-load issue quickly falls apart.
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… https://t.co/Pd40wmlzV2
— SteamDB (@SteamDB) May 11, 2026
In theory, Playground Games should be able to track down the leaker. That is, if this is indeed what happened. Every review code likely contains an identifier, making it possible to trace who originally had that game version.
In short, Steam was not responsible for this leak. This was most likely done by someone who had early access to it. So, we’re looking at a reviewer, an influencer, or an industry insider. These are the ones that are currently playing the game.
Some say that this is a poor attempt at damage control. Some say that this is a conspiracy theory. For what it’s worth, this is the official statement from the devs themselves. Whether you want to believe or not, it’s up to you.
Anyway, as Playground Games states, its PC fans should wait until the full game is out. On the other hand, nothing will stop those who want to sail the high seas.
Microsoft will release Forza Horizon 6 on May 19. As I’ve already said, NVIDIA has provided us with a review code. Therefore, you can expect a day-1 PC Performance Analysis.
Stay tuned for more!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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