{"id":1958377,"date":"2026-05-27T15:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T12:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1958377"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T12:10:10","slug":"hoping-well-be-spared-the-bowieknife99-saga-in-forza-horizon-6-continues-as-the-urban-legend-goes-viral-and-walmart-bans-the-mysterious-racer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1958377","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Hoping we&#8217;ll be spared&#8221; &#8211; The bowieknife99 saga in Forza Horizon 6 continues as the urban legend goes viral and Walmart bans the mysterious racer"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/forza-horizon-6\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Forza Horizon 6<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">&#8220;Hoping we&#8217;ll be spared&#8221; &#8211; The bowieknife99 saga in Forza Horizon 6 continues as the urban legend goes viral and Walmart bans the mysterious racer<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Common enemy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Forza-Horizon-6_BS1HQnI.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"A race in the Japanese countryside in Forza Horizon 6\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Forza-Horizon-6_BS1HQnI.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Xbox Game Studios<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-05-27T15:10:10+00:00\">May 27, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/forza-horizon-6-bowieknife99-viral?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          6 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"b99982ec-ce0c-4c4d-8150-6eb3628f1e8f\" data-name=\"Forza Horizon 6\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Forza Horizon 6\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Forza Horizon 6\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Forza Horizon 6\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Forza Horizon 6\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Forza Horizon 6\" title=\"Follow Forza Horizon 6\"><br \/>\n  Follow Forza Horizon 6<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/forza-horizon-6\">Forza Horizon 6<\/a> is a blast, but there&#8217;s a recurring &#8216;drivatar&#8217; AI racer making things harder for many drivers. Their nickname is bowieknife99, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/forza-horizon-6-drivatar-crisis\">they&#8217;ve caused enough mayhem to become an urban legend of sorts<\/a>. Now, the myth has gone viral.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Happy Bank Holiday Monday to everyone except bowie knife99,&#8221; the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/xboxuk\/status\/2058841122500219058?s=20\">official Xbox UK account<\/a> posted on Monday. Since then, comments, clips, and edits on social media have only become wilder and funnier. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/XBOXGamePass\/status\/2059371499253797372?s=20\">Other Xbox accounts<\/a> were the first to run with the jokes, but soon enough, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RaymanGame\/status\/2059211829994246539?s=20\">Rayman himself<\/a> was wondering about the shadowy figure.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Forza Horizon 6 &#8211; Official Launch Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zykeOxdcZkk\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;Hoping we&#8217;ll be spared,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheCrewGame\/status\/2059230082351169597?s=20\">The Crew&#8217;s social media account<\/a> replied. Fitting, since Ubisoft&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-crew-motorfest\">The Crew Motorfest<\/a> is the only real competition to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/forza-horizon\">Forza Horizon<\/a>&#8216;s take on open-world racing. Who knows, maybe there are bowieknife99 copycats in that game already?<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s already <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BowieKnife99\/status\/2058684768506515746?s=20\">a verified account for the &#8216;drivatar&#8217; on X<\/a>, but no one knows if it&#8217;s related to the seemingly real person behind the bot. In the Forza Horizon games, &#8216;drivatars&#8217; are based on the performance and online presence of real players, but investigations into the person who birthed such a relentless AI driver have been futile so far.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, even <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PRAGMATAgame\/status\/2059377134519628129?s=20\">Pragmata&#8217;s X account<\/a> is pointing out Diana is disgusted by mentions of the nightmarish foe. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WalmartCAGaming\/status\/2059398691539099671?s=20\">Walmart Canada Gaming<\/a> (apparently a real thing) has gone the extra mile, banning the individual from all stores: &#8220;You already have to worry about running into your ex at Walmart &#8211; you shouldn&#8217;t worry about bowieknife99 running into you outside of Forza Horizon 6.&#8221; Well played. How will this saga conclude, and will we ever find out the person behind the meme? It&#8217;s like Top Gear&#8217;s &#8216;The Stig&#8217; all over again.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/forza-horizon-6\">Forza Horizon 6<\/a> is a blast, but there&#8217;s a recurring &#8216;drivatar&#8217; AI racer making things harder for many drivers. Their nickname is bowieknife99, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/forza-horizon-6-drivatar-crisis\">they&#8217;ve caused enough mayhem to become an urban legend of sorts<\/a>. Now, the myth has gone viral.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Happy Bank Holiday Monday to everyone except bowie knife99,&#8221; the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/xboxuk\/status\/2058841122500219058?s=20\">official Xbox UK account<\/a> posted on Monday. Since then, comments, clips, and edits on social media have only become wilder and funnier. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/XBOXGamePass\/status\/2059371499253797372?s=20\">Other Xbox accounts<\/a> were the first to run with the jokes, but soon enough, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RaymanGame\/status\/2059211829994246539?s=20\">Rayman himself<\/a> was wondering about the shadowy figure.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Forza Horizon 6 &#8211; Official Launch Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zykeOxdcZkk\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;Hoping we&#8217;ll be spared,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheCrewGame\/status\/2059230082351169597?s=20\">The Crew&#8217;s social media account<\/a> replied. Fitting, since Ubisoft&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-crew-motorfest\">The Crew Motorfest<\/a> is the only real competition to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/forza-horizon\">Forza Horizon<\/a>&#8216;s take on open-world racing. Who knows, maybe there are bowieknife99 copycats in that game already?<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s already <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BowieKnife99\/status\/2058684768506515746?s=20\">a verified account for the &#8216;drivatar&#8217; on X<\/a>, but no one knows if it&#8217;s related to the seemingly real person behind the bot. In the Forza Horizon games, &#8216;drivatars&#8217; are based on the performance and online presence of real players, but investigations into the person who birthed such a relentless AI driver have been futile so far.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, even <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PRAGMATAgame\/status\/2059377134519628129?s=20\">Pragmata&#8217;s X account<\/a> is pointing out Diana is disgusted by mentions of the nightmarish foe. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WalmartCAGaming\/status\/2059398691539099671?s=20\">Walmart Canada Gaming<\/a> (apparently a real thing) has gone the extra mile, banning the individual from all stores: &#8220;You already have to worry about running into your ex at Walmart &#8211; you shouldn&#8217;t worry about bowieknife99 running into you outside of Forza Horizon 6.&#8221; Well played. How will this saga conclude, and will we ever find out the person behind the meme? It&#8217;s like Top Gear&#8217;s &#8216;The Stig&#8217; all over again.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Forza Horizon 6 &#8220;Hoping we&#8217;ll be spared&#8221; &#8211; The bowieknife99 saga in Forza Horizon 6 continues as the urban legend goes viral and Walmart bans the mysterious racer Common enemy. Image credit: Xbox Game Studios News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on May 27, 2026 6 comments Follow Forza Horizon 6 Forza Horizon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1958377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1958377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1958377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1958377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1958377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1958377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1958377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}