A number of Forza Horizon 6 players have reported widespread bans affecting custom car paint jobs within the Creative Hub. Although these actions are intended to address content that breaches the game’s conduct rules, some affected designs include popular “itasha” styles—cars adorned with characters from anime, manga, and video games.
About two months back, our Japanese sister site reported that several well-known itasha creators were removing their work and withholding new designs, suggesting they had been restricted from sharing their creations. Beyond itasha, designs featuring logos of automotive parts suppliers were also removed, prompting worries that certain creations might be automatically flagged based on the volume of player reports they receive.
Despite a lack of confirmation, some believe that a coordinated “reporting campaign” could be the cause of the mass removal of player-generated content across multiple Forza titles.
More recently, players throughout Japan have been reporting a fresh wave of alleged “bans,” likely an extension of earlier incidents during the summer. This latest wave seems to target not only completed designs but also players who photograph itasha paint jobs and share them in-game. There are even accounts of bans affecting players who possess unfinished work that hasn’t been uploaded. This includes files containing body lines and rough sketches, which may have been misidentified as “nude.” While no official link has been established between the reports and player bans, the temporary restrictions on popular itasha artists appear to have deterred others from sharing their work.
Although user-made itasha designs have faced criticism in previous Forza games, some argue that they hold significant value in Forza Horizon 6, given the game’s setting in Japan (the origin of itasha culture). “They show absolutely no respect for the culture they used as the game’s main selling point.
itasha have always been a part of the Horizon series. It was peaceful, and itasha were a normal thing. Yet in this installment, set in Japan, the homeland of itasha culture, they’ve become something that is punished. They exploit [Japanese] culture only when it helps sales, then trample on its essence,” a user wrote.
Furthermore, many players struggle to understand how certain user-generated itasha designs violate the content guidelines outlined in the game’s code of conduct, which specifically mentions “notorious iconography, profanity, child endangerment, defamation & impersonation, spam/advertising, personal information, QR codes, drug symbolism and imagery, sexually inappropriate/suggestive, harm against people/animals, and much more.” Fans are calling for clearer criteria to ensure they can create content without risking bans.
Forza Horizon 6 is available on Windows (Steam/Microsoft Store) and Xbox Series X|S. A PlayStation 5 version is scheduled for release later this year.
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