Forza Horizon 6 Free McLaren Sabre: How to Claim It and What the Hotfix Fixed
Every Forza Horizon 6 player is getting a free 2021 McLaren Sabre after the June 18 hotfix. Here's how to claim it from the Message Center, plus what the Eliminator credit exploit fix and Auto Drive rebalance changed.
Free hypercar time. Every Forza Horizon 6 player is getting a 2021 McLaren Sabre for nothing, handed out as an apology after Playground Games had to take The Eliminator offline to kill a credit exploit. The June 18, 2026 Series 2 Hotfix 1 (version 379.939) restored the mode and shipped the gift car.
Claiming it takes about ten seconds. Here is how, plus what else the hotfix changed so you know whether anything you did got rolled back.
How to claim the McLaren Sabre
You do not have to drive, win, or unlock anything. The car is a gift sitting in your account.
- Boot up Forza Horizon 6 and make sure you are online.
- Open the Message Center in the menus.
- Go to the Gifts tab.
- The 2021 McLaren Sabre is waiting there. Redeem it, and it drops straight into your garage.
That is the whole process. Playground confirmed the car “can be redeemed from the in-game Message Center (under the Gifts tab),” so if you do not see it yet, make sure your game is fully updated to the June 18 hotfix and that you are connected online. The gift was distributed once Eliminator access was restored, so an out-of-date client may not show it.
Why you are getting it
The backstory is a chain reaction. Players found an exploit in The Eliminator, Forza Horizon 6’s car battle royale mode, that let them rack up an unintended pile of credits. To stop the bleeding, Playground temporarily disabled Eliminator matchmaking on June 15 while they built a fix.
Taking a whole online mode offline, even briefly, is a real inconvenience for the people who actually play it. So when the hotfix restored access on June 18, Playground bundled in the free McLaren Sabre “as a gesture of good will for the inconvenience of disabling this feature.” If you want to jump into the mode now that it is back, my Eliminator guide covers how to win the car battle royale.
What the hotfix actually fixed
Three things landed in the June 18 hotfix, and it is worth knowing all three.
The Eliminator credit exploit, patched. The core fix closed the loophole that let players “earn an unintended amount of Credits through an exploit used in The Eliminator.” That is the whole reason the mode went down, and it is now sealed.
The Eliminator, back online. Matchmaking is restored, so you can queue up again normally.
Auto Drive rewards, rebalanced. This one is easy to miss. Related to the credit exploit, Playground “rebalanced the Rewards available in some game modes to prevent these from being exploited using Auto Drive.” Their reasoning: Auto Drive is meant to be an accessibility feature, or a break when your hands need a rest, “not intended to be used as a way to earn credits without actively playing the game.” So if you were idling with Auto Drive to farm credits in certain modes, that payout has been trimmed. Legit play is untouched.
If your goal is stacking credits the proper way, skip the patched-out tricks and use the methods in my best credit farm guide instead.
Did the hotfix take credits away from me?
If you played normally, no. The fixes target the exploit and the Auto Drive farming, not your regular earnings. If you specifically used the Eliminator credit exploit, those unintended credits were the whole point of the patch, so do not be surprised if your balance does not include them anymore.
For everyone else, the only thing that changed in your account is a brand new McLaren waiting in the Gifts tab. That is a good trade.
A couple of related Series 2 notes
The hotfix dropped the same day Series 2 Horizon Decades launched, so a few things are happening at once. The June 15 update before it also rebalanced Horizon Play XP, pushing many players who had already reached Level 32 straight to Level 100 with the badges and the Maxed Out achievement. And there is still an ongoing save data loss investigation, so if you have not locked down your save settings yet, read my save data loss guide before you bank too many hours on that new McLaren.
Otherwise, enjoy the freebie. The 2021 McLaren Sabre is a genuinely strong car to have in the garage, and you got it for the price of opening a menu.
Quick answers
Where exactly is the free car? In the Message Center, under the Gifts tab. Redeem it there and it goes to your garage instantly.
Do I need to have played The Eliminator to get it? No. The McLaren Sabre is going to all players, not just Eliminator regulars. It is a blanket goodwill gift.
Is the Eliminator back to normal? Yes. The June 18 hotfix restored matchmaking and patched the credit exploit, so the mode plays as intended again.
Open the Gifts tab, grab your McLaren, and you are done.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I claim the free McLaren Sabre in Forza Horizon 6?
Open the in-game Message Center and go to the Gifts tab. The 2021 McLaren Sabre is waiting there for every player to redeem. You do not have to do anything else to earn it.
Why is Forza Horizon 6 giving away a free McLaren?
Playground Games temporarily disabled The Eliminator to fix a credit exploit. The free 2021 McLaren Sabre is a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience of that mode being unavailable. The June 18 hotfix restored Eliminator access.
Did the hotfix remove credits I earned?
The hotfix patched the Eliminator credit exploit and rebalanced rewards in some modes to stop them being farmed with Auto Drive. If you used the exploit, those unintended credits were addressed. Normal play is unaffected.