Despite having been succeeded already, Forza Horizon 4 is still a very popular racing game. However, the game will be delisted from digitial stores at the end of 2024. All DLC has already been pulled.
The Forza Horizon series is arguably the king of open-world racing games. Its current game, Forza Horizon 5 is perpetually near the top of our list of most played racing games on Steam, only trailing BeamNG.drive in May. And even its predecessor Forza Horizon 4 continues to be a popular choice for racing game fans, having racked up over 4,300 players on average in May.
However, developer Playground Games and publisher Microsoft Games have announced that the game will be delisted from digital stores on December 15, 2024. That means the game will be just over six years old when it will be unavailable for purchase online, physical copies excluded. Players who still want to get their hands on the game still have about half a year of time to do so, so the announcement was made well in advance.
The reasons behind the delisting appear to be "licensing and agreements with our partners", as the delisting announcement explained. FH4 will not be available on Steam and in the Microsoft Store anymore after December 15. Plus, anyone who played the game via Game Pass and has an active subscription as per June 25, 2024, "will be eligible to receive a game token if you have purchased any extra content for Forza Horizon 4 through your Xbox Message Center."
Consequently, the last Forza Horizon 4 series playlist has launched. Series 77 will be active until August 22, 2024, and players will only be able to access the playlist screen to view their playlist history after this date. Daily and weekly challenges are set to continue via the Forza Events screen, which will reward players with Backstage Passes upon completion. All previously Festival Playlist-exclusive cars will be added ot the Backstage Pass Cars list after Series 77.
Could this also hint at a new Forza Horizon title lining up on the grid? Rumors were swirling ahead of the Xbox Showcase Event on June 9, but the open-world racing franchise was not part of the event. However, with Forza Motorsport having seen a new entry to the series in late 2023 and with Forza Horizon 5 turning three years old (the same time span between the releases of FH4 and 5) in November, it would not seem unreasonable that Forza Horizon 6 being on the... well, horizon could also be part of the reasons behind the delisting of Forza Horizon 4.
Do you think Microsoft Games and Playground Games handled the delisting of Forza Horizon 4 correctly? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
The Forza Horizon series is arguably the king of open-world racing games. Its current game, Forza Horizon 5 is perpetually near the top of our list of most played racing games on Steam, only trailing BeamNG.drive in May. And even its predecessor Forza Horizon 4 continues to be a popular choice for racing game fans, having racked up over 4,300 players on average in May.
However, developer Playground Games and publisher Microsoft Games have announced that the game will be delisted from digital stores on December 15, 2024. That means the game will be just over six years old when it will be unavailable for purchase online, physical copies excluded. Players who still want to get their hands on the game still have about half a year of time to do so, so the announcement was made well in advance.
The reasons behind the delisting appear to be "licensing and agreements with our partners", as the delisting announcement explained. FH4 will not be available on Steam and in the Microsoft Store anymore after December 15. Plus, anyone who played the game via Game Pass and has an active subscription as per June 25, 2024, "will be eligible to receive a game token if you have purchased any extra content for Forza Horizon 4 through your Xbox Message Center."
DLC Already Unavailable, Final Playlist Series Launched
What was not announced ahead of time at all, however, is the delisting of all DLC related to Forza Horizon 4. The extra content has been made unavailable as the delisting announcement was made. Instead, only the Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate versions of FH4 will be available. As the game is currently on sale on Steam, an Xbox store sale is set to follow starting July 14.Consequently, the last Forza Horizon 4 series playlist has launched. Series 77 will be active until August 22, 2024, and players will only be able to access the playlist screen to view their playlist history after this date. Daily and weekly challenges are set to continue via the Forza Events screen, which will reward players with Backstage Passes upon completion. All previously Festival Playlist-exclusive cars will be added ot the Backstage Pass Cars list after Series 77.
Could this also hint at a new Forza Horizon title lining up on the grid? Rumors were swirling ahead of the Xbox Showcase Event on June 9, but the open-world racing franchise was not part of the event. However, with Forza Motorsport having seen a new entry to the series in late 2023 and with Forza Horizon 5 turning three years old (the same time span between the releases of FH4 and 5) in November, it would not seem unreasonable that Forza Horizon 6 being on the... well, horizon could also be part of the reasons behind the delisting of Forza Horizon 4.
Do you think Microsoft Games and Playground Games handled the delisting of Forza Horizon 4 correctly? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!