Forza Horizon 6: new moderation guidelines after Itasha backlash

According to the reporting, explicit sexual content and sexually suggestive content are banned, with references to Itasha designs.
Social media and Steam criticism says enforcement is too vague or too strict, but available sources do not confirm exact ban numbers.

What happened

IGN reported that Microsoft and the Forza Horizon 6 developers shared an updated code of conduct after backlash over Itasha-style car designs. In that reporting, the rules are said to be meant to make it clearer which player-created content is not allowed.

The core change, according to the article, is that explicit sexual content and sexually suggestive content are banned. The guidelines would also specifically address iconography and imagery, including Itasha designs.

Itasha are custom decorations on cars, often featuring characters from manga, anime, and video games. According to the source context provided, the style originated in Japan, and players in racing games like Forza use their vehicles to show off these vinyl designs.

The backlash mainly centers on whether moderation is unfairly targeting Itasha liveries. The supplied social posts also mention criticism that the criteria are too vague and concerns that Forza Horizon 6 is being moderated more strictly than earlier entries, but the sources do not confirm how many bans were actually issued or how the moderation works technically.

Timeline

2026-09-25: IGN publishes reporting on backlash over Itasha car designs and says explicit sexual content and sexually suggestive content are banned under the updated guidelines.
2026-09-25: In the supplied social posts, users criticize the vagueness of the criteria and raise concerns about stricter enforcement than in previous Forza games.
2026-09-25: The source context says the guidelines also address specific iconography and imagery, including Itasha designs.

Background

The available source material shows that the debate is not just about one design style, but also about how Forza Horizon 6 defines allowed user-generated content. The reporting explicitly notes that some players suspect AI moderation or mass reporting may be involved, but that remains unconfirmed in the supplied sources.

Because the full text of the updated code of conduct was not included, it remains unclear how broad the new rules are and whether Itasha are treated differently in practice from other custom liveries.