Forza Horizon 3 update pushes an unencrypted developers build by mistake

The latest update to Forza Horizon 3, as noticed by NeoGAF, is a whopping 53GB download. That's an awful lot of data for a single update. As it turns out, that's because instead of patching the game to support today's Rockstar Car Pack, the update pushed an unencrypted developer build of the entire game. 

The leak revealed a huge list of cars, many of them not yet added to the game—spoiler warning, but you can see the full list on Imgur—and may well have exposed the game to heightened risks of piracy as well. But the real problem for players, as explained in this forum post, is that those who downloaded the update, and then played and saved the game, will be stuck with corrupted saves.   

"Avoid creating a new saved game on .37.2, and only play on .35.2 to avoid this issue," Forza community manager Brian Ekberg. "As long as you have an existing save and have not created a new one on .37.2, your saved game will work correctly once the update is available." 

The update has now been pulled, but if you've already installed it you'll need to uninstall the game and then redownload the whole thing. The incorrect version will end in .37.2, while the correct, playable build will end in .35.2. The version number can be found on the Forza Horizon 3 launch screen; check it before you drive, just to be sure.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Latest in Racing
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, showing various racing competitors hurtling through the air
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds looks like a return to the over-the-top arcade fun of All-Star Racing Transformed, and we'll get to play it this month
A masked sniper pointing his rifle in Nightmare Kart
Superb Bloodborne-inspired racing game Nightmare Kart is getting free DLC featuring sniper rifles and supercharged penny farthings
Tokyo Xtreme Racer
Tokyo Xtreme Racer brings heart, soul, and sweet handbrake turns back to the genre just when it needed them most
Need for Speed Unbound screen
Need for Speed is effectively on hold while Criterion musters entirely around Battlefield, but EA assures players the racer will return in 'new and interesting ways'
A Blue car in front of a color splash on black background in Tokyo Xtreme Racer
I'm not even a car guy, but Y2K throwback Tokyo Xtreme Racer '25 looks incredible and has thousands of Overwhelmingly Positive Steam reviews after 4 days of early access
Over the Hill screenshot
The new off-road exploration game from the makers of Art of Rally looks like Mudrunner meets Firewatch, and I can't wait to get behind the wheel
Latest in News
Gabe Newell in a Valve promotional video, on a yacht.
Go ahead and complain the discounts aren't as steep as they used to be, but Steam just had its biggest year ever for seasonal sales
Valve Steam Deck OLED handheld PC
'The future of hardware at Valve is bright': Valve celebrates the success of Steam Deck and Steam OS
Key art of the videogame Lunacid, showing a pale, long haired knight in purple armor contemplating a purple, flaming sword surrounded by the different phases of the moon.
One of my favorite indie RPGs is getting a follow-up made with FromSoftware's 25-year-old Super Mario Maker for first person dungeon crawlers
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 image - Henry riding a pink and blue striped horse while holding a fish
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 now has Steam Workshop support, and of course one of the first mods lets you adjust the 'jiggle physics'
Still image of Bastion holding a bird, taken from Microsoft's Copilot for Gaming reveal trailer
Microsoft unveils Copilot for Gaming, an AI-powered 'ultimate gaming sidekick' that will let you talk to your console so you don't have to talk to your friends
Erenshor - A player and two simulated MMO party members stand on a plateau in front of a yellow landscape
This RuneScape-looking 'simulated MMORPG' has all the nostalgia without the drama because all the other 'players' are NPCs