Developer Playground Games has issued a lifetime ban to a player who accessed Forza Horizon 6 early, after unencrypted files popped up on Steam.
Forza Horizon 6 looks set to be one of the biggest games of this month, but some players have managed to access it well before launch.
Over the weekend, developer Playground Games rolled out an update on Forza Horizon 6’s Steam page, but seemingly uploaded the pre-load data without any encryption by accident. A game’s files are typically uploaded ahead of launch, but if they’re not encrypted, they can be downloaded and accessed by the savvy few.
Playground Games has since fixed the error, as seen on SteamDB, but the brief unencrypted window has meant some players have been able to play cracked versions of Forza Horizon 6 before it officially launches on May 19.
As seen with one player, however, accessing these files is a dance with the banning gods. YouTuber DVS Squad has been issued a lifetime ban after he uploaded a video showing the game in action, overlooking the fact that his account name was in full view.
As seen in a screenshot which has circulated online (and verified by GameCentral as being from DVS Squad in his Discord server), the YouTuber was issued a ban from the Forza Community Team, which expires on December 31, 9999.
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‘Due to cheating/unallowed modding, you have been suspended,’ the message reads. ‘For more information, visit aka.ms/ForzaBanInfo.’
While it’s unclear if this ban is tied to his hardware or just his account, it means DVS Squad has 7,973 years to wait to play Forza Horizon 6. So unless he ends up as a head in a jar he’s never going to get to play it officially.
Weirdly enough, a Forza Horizon 5 player got a similar lifetime ban from the game’s livery editor for making a design based around North Korean dictator Kin Jong-un. That one was slightly longer at 7,978 years.
How to play Forza Horizon 6 early
While most players will have to wait until May 19 to play Forza Horizon 6, you can access it four days early if you pre-order the Premium edition for £109.99. This also comes with access to two future expansions, along with various car packs and cosmetics.
If you’re holding out for the PlayStation 5 version, Playground Games has said it’s coming later this year.
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