Someone at Microsoft had a bad weekend. Forza Horizon 6 briefly became freely playable after its Steam preload files were uploaded without encryption — meaning anyone who knew where to look could extract and run the full game days before release.
The mechanics here are pretty standard: games on Steam are uploaded as encrypted files that unlock at a set date and time. Forza Horizon 6’s files skipped that step entirely, and copies spread to piracy sites almost immediately. Microsoft moved quickly to contain the damage, targeting anyone attempting to livestream the game ahead of its official launch.
It’s an embarrassing slip for a flagship title — and not a small one. Unencrypted preloads are a basic safeguard that’s been standard practice for years.
Elsewhere in the week’s news: Stellar Blade developer ShiftUp announced it will self-publish Stellar Blade 2, and notably left the door open for a multiplatform release. The original was a PS5 exclusive, but a self-publishing deal removes Sony from the equation — which means Switch 2 and Xbox are both realistic possibilities this time around.
And Nintendo, still dealing with a sliding share price even after announcing a Switch 2 price increase, confirmed it has unannounced games still coming this year. Not much to go on, but given the pressure the company is currently under, they’ll need something to show sooner rather than later.
