Forza Horizon 6’s PC version has leaked online ahead of release next week, with an unencrypted Steam build allegedly being to blame.

According to multiple posts on Reddit, one of which has seemingly been removed by Reddit’s legal operations team themselves, a build of the open-world racer – added to Steam’s backend over the weekend – has allowed pirates to make a cracked version of Horizon 6 available for download.

Cue videos and images showing off Horizon 6 flooding the likes of social media and YouTube, based on which it very much appears this is the genuine article, rather than some sort of wind-up. So, expect many of these posts and videos to be nudged into the internet scrapyard by strikes soon, if Microsoft’s Lionel Hutzes are on the ball.

I’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment.

Assuming the Steam mixup alleged does turn out to be the source of the leak, Horizon 6 will at least be able to speak to Death Stranding 2 if it wants to chat with a mate who’s suffered a similar pre-release fate. It’s unclear what effect, if any, the leak might have on Horizon 6’s sales, but it is worth noting that legitimate pre-release access was one of the bonuses sold to those who ponied up for the game’s Premium Edition. Those who paid probably aren’t best pleased to see anyone getting in ahead of them, even if it is likely a limited number willing to take the risk of downloading game files messed with by unofficial sources.

This leak also isn’t the first time Horizon 6 has jumped its planned start – the May 19th release date raced out of the gates ahead of schedule in January thanks to a pop-up ad in predecessor Forza Horizon 5. If you want a taste of Horizon 6’s Japan early without any leak-related risk, developers Playground did share its world map last month, allowing you to trace your fingers along its many roads while doing a crack impression of a wailing V12.