Oops, Forza Horizon 6 game files have been released on Steam early

Forza Horizon 6, the most anticipated racing game of the year, has just jumped the lights. Although it’s not out until 19 May, its game files were temporarily (and erroneously) released in unencrypted form on Steam recently, allowing hackers to rip the game and distribute pirated versions.

However, the risks of trying to play the illegally distributed pre-release build are serious. Remember that old ‘you wouldn’t download a car’ anti-piracy ads at the beginning of every Noughties DVD? Well those words are as relevant as ever.

Content creators have released videos of themselves playing Forza Horizon 6 early, because of course they have. One of them shared communication from the Forza team letting them know they've been served a 69,895,509-hour ban, and is eligible to play the game again after 31 December in the year 9999.

Which is a shame, because FH6 looks set to uphold the high standard the series has achieved consistently since it first came to our hard drives in 2012. This one’s in Japan, it features a massive world map with the biggest urban area the series has ever offered, and brings new gymkhana-style Horizon Rush events.

How this happened is unclear. Did someone at Playground Games lean on the cartoonishly giant ‘do not pull until 19 May’ lever installed right in the middle of their office? We’re not ones for baseless conjecture, but yes, we’re saying that’s definitely what happened here.