So listen up, here’s a story. About a funny image posted on an Arabic twitter account. The image was, apparently: sourced by a random fan playing Forza Horizon 5, encountered purely by chance, and shows off information would make Microsoft really, really mad should it meet public eyes.
But unfortunately for them, Microsoft has no power here. Forza Horizon 6’s release date is May 19th of this year, with those who pre-order (or those who get the Premium Upgrade) able to play as early as May 15th. Or so the legend goes.
Are the tales true? Or is this one of many faked screenshots that float around the internet every so often? Questions like that are never easy to answer, but apparently, someone has. VGC reported that the claim is true. Their source? “Sources say so,” or so I paraphrase.
It’s worth noting that VGC’s reporting only confirmed that the “release window” was correct. Keep that in mind.
According to the leaked image, players who pre-order the game will receive a number of goodies beyond the privilege of playing the game early.
A “pre-tuned and exclusive Ferrari j50” will come along with any pre-orders, with the following treats available both to pre-order-ers and platinum upgraders: a VIP membership, a welcome pack, two car packs, and access to another car pack plus two game expansions once they’re ready for release.
How Real Is The Forza Horizon 6 Leak?
The leaked information all sounds reasonable for this sort of thing. And the explanation behind it all – that the image was a pop-up ad that appeared in-game – seems like par for the course as far as Microsoft game ads go.
It’s interesting, then, that this only appeared for a single random person, a single time, with apparently nobody able to replicate it. Just thinking it through, how could that have happened?
Realistically? A coincidental ‘go-live’ button press, followed by an immediate reversal, leaving the popup active for exactly long enough for one player to see and screenshot it? Maybe. But that involves many assumptions about how this all works.
The replication crisis is the real head-scratcher here. The information within is, funnily enough, harder to feel skeptical about – VGC wouldn’t have staked their reputation on it if they disbelieved it, and though they didn’t confirm anything but the release window, they did it in such a way that at least implies the other info is true.
Here, things get a bit more speculative – but, hopefully, it’ll do a better job of pleasing occam’s razor than the coincidental oopsie-daisies described above. What if the info in the leak is real, but the leak itself is fake?
What if someone had Forza Horizon 6 info they wanted to leak, but also wanted to keep their identity protected? What if they could make a fictional player leak real information? Maybe they could throw in some extra actually-fake info to better cover their tracks? The sort of info that’s readily forgotten about, compared to a proper release date?
Microsoft likely intends to reveal this information themselves on the 22nd of this month. Keep an eye on their Developer Direct Showcase, where Forza Horizon 6 information is already on the schedule. A release date reveal is something they could easily showcase there, so if you’re looking to see how much of today’s leak is true, that’s likely where you’ll find your answers.
