Microsoft Hardware Bans Forza Horizon 6 Leakers for 8000 Years

Forza Horizon 6 was leaked early on Steam due to a Steamworks publishing oversight. Microsoft and Playground Games responded by issuing hardware ID bans to players who accessed the leaked version.

Hardware bans target motherboard, CPU, and storage

The hardware bans target components such as the motherboard, CPU, and storage. They cannot be bypassed by reinstalling the operating system or changing accounts. The bans are set to expire on December 31, 9999, which is approximately 8000 years from now. Affected players received a violation reason of "Cheating or unauthorized mod modifications."

The game is set in Japan and is optimized for PC. Pre-orders on Steam have exceeded 500,000 copies, and first-day sales are expected to reach 2 million. The official release is scheduled for next week.

Microsoft has not commented on whether the bans will be lifted before the expiration date. The company has also not clarified if players who accessed the leak will be allowed to purchase the game legitimately.