Well, Forza Horizon's British racing festival is about to close its doors - with Xbox announcing that Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from digital storefronts later this year. Of course, the game will remain playable for existing owners after this date, but it's being removed from Xbox Game Pass - and the game's live service elements will wind down this year too. While Forza Horizon 5 is here now and continues to get updates, we still miss the days when FH4 was king of the roost, and we'll be sad when its digital disappearance goes down in December.
You might be thinking to yourself, just play Horizon 5, it's great? Well, that might be true, but for me personally, Horizon 4 remains the best game in the Forza Horizon series - with a fantastic map, game-changing weather conditions and the best racing roads in the franchise. Yep, I said it.
Now, there may be some bias to that, I admit. Not only am I from the UK and really dug cruising around some of the area's underappreciated locations, but also, this game marked my real start in the industry. Just as the world was locking down due to COVID-19, I was working with the team at Eurogamer on getting my first-ever feature published over there. It was certainly a great time to reconnect with some of my childhood holiday destinations in the digital world of Forza Horizon 4!
It's not all rose-tinted nostalgia, though. I still regularly play this game across both Xbox and my Steam Deck, and it's just pound-for-pound the best entry in the series for me. You've got amazingly varied racing routes across the main map, Fortune Island and the LEGO expansion, you've got those cool-as-heck weather effects I previously mentioned, you've got just enough endgame content and live service goodies to keep you hooked - but not too many that it becomes a bit overwhelming (ahem, Forza Horizon 5). Horizon 4 just got the balance right I reckon, and given that it came from Xbox's day one on Game Pass era, I was hoping it'd stick around alongside FH5 for some time to come.
Alas, that isn't to be, and fans will have to make sure that they go ahead and grab a copy in some form before it's removed from the Xbox Store. It sounds like anyone who owns any FH4 DLC will be getting some sort of token to redeem over the coming days, so be sure to keep checking your Xbox messages for that, especially if you still enjoy this game as much as I do. Also, various versions of the game are on sale right now on Steam, with an Xbox sale to come in July, so there's no need to rush and fork out full price for it!
Personally, I already have a physical copy of the game, so I'll be sorted out well beyond this digital delisting - I just felt the need to rant and rave about Horizon 4 and why I love it so much in the meantime. Anyway, I'll be off now to continue enjoying the best Forza Horizon game to date, and maybe, just maybe, the best driving game on Xbox.
Which Is Your Favourite Forza Horizon Game? (281 votes)
- Forza Horizon
- Forza Horizon 2
- Forza Horizon 3
- Forza Horizon 4
- Forza Horizon 5
What do you think about all of this, Forza fans? Pick your best Horizon game in the poll above and tell me why I'm wrong in the comments section.
Comments 30
Thanks Ben, I feel the same about this game, which I still play from time to time.
I recently played them all again and its remarkable just how well those games, even the original, stand up to this day. But none of them shine brighter than no 4 for me..
I cannot fathom a 6 year old racing game being delisted, that is ridiculous, unacceptable. Is it too expensive to keep paying licenses for real life cars in an old game? Why not update it in order to replace all the licensed cars for fictional ones? At least the game would still be playable. People are not complaining about car brands not being realistic in GTA 5... you know, one of the best selling games of all time.
Either that or put the old maps in FH5! Heck, get rid of numbered entries in future Forza Horizon games, make a live service forever game and add new maps every couple years. Anything but delisting games. Where is all that talk about game preservation?
Can’t be helped. That said, I’m glad you can still get delisted games on PC. I played FH2 on my Ally (X360 version), currently playing FH3 (works and looks great) and I played FH4 a lot when it came out. My favourite of them all. I’m also playing Football Life 2024, which is a heavily modded PES 21 that you could not play otherwise unless you bought it when it was available. PC is the king in this game preservation race.
@RazputinAquato It is frustrating, it's been a problem with racing games for decades. I love loads of those niche racing games from the PS2/Xbox era and even the 360 days as well, but it's mostly disc or bust for those now.
In the case of Forza, I'd love for MS to work on some sort of rolling license for the series. If new games keep coming out with the same cars, why can't the 'franchise' hold these licenses and all the games stay active? A weird one.
I absolutely love this game, it might even be my favourite of all time, certainly the best driving / racer I’ve played. The world is so immersive, particularly with the seasons mechanic, and I’ve spent countless hours just driving around, chilling. That beach area near Bamburgh Castle and the lighthouse, is a particular highlight for me.
I’ve no real problem with it being delisted, and can well understand issues with licensing, etc, though this of course means that newer generations will not be able to enjoy the game, in future. As I own the game on Xbox and Steam, I look forward to sinking many more hours into it. Brilliant stuff, and unmatched in its genre.
@Titntin Thank you for reading! I bloody love this game, there's just nothing really like it especially with the setting.
@Kezelpaso Do you know if it's staying on gamepass and Forza horizon 4 is easily the best racing game ever for me I really loved the Lego expansion and my daughter still plays it now
@Ricky-Spanish The game will be removed from Game Pass on December 15th when the digital version goes away.
You have until then to get a copy if you want it digital, but it will be deeply discounted on Xbox in July - and we're hearing that if you bought DLC for the game you'll get a token for the base game soon. Should know more about that in the next few days.
Best in series.
Not to get me confused because these stuff does.
Can you still buy the game and it’s dlc after the date?
@Kezelpaso
Ok thank you.
Off topic: I do find it interesting no one seems to be make a big deal that Xbox is giving gamepass subs who bought forza DLC a copy of the game.
On-topic: I do really love cruising around FH4, Iut would be cool if the map comes back. Kinda like that idea GTA: Online would eventually add old GTA maps.
@abe_hikura We might make a big deal about it when the tokens start showing up 😉
I don’t subscribe to GamePass continuously, only choosing to pay for a months usage when a game gets released on the service that I like, but I always stick around for the month after playing whichever game brought me back to play Forza Horizon 4. It’s easily my favourite game in the series and although I have it physically, I’ll be very sad to see it go from digital.
@Kezelpaso Thanks for the info a bought the Lego dlc but I'll probably pick the game up properly if it's going to be delisted thanks for the info 👍
@Ricky-Spanish No problem. If you have the Lego DLC, you should get contacted soon with a token to get the base game for free. We're just waiting on these tokens to start going out!
Horizon 4 was better in some ways, Horizon 5 is better in others. Played the hell out of both of them and I have my sights set on Horizon 6 at this point.
Still need to play this game. Overall the Forza Horizon series is my favorite Xbox series, they really are great games to just chill to. 3 is my favorite but I still need to play 4 and 5. Will definitely pick 4 up next month.
@RazputinAquato
“People are not complaining about car brands not being realistic in GTA 5... you know, one of the best selling games of all time.”
Of course not because it’s not a racing game. If you don’t think this would have a big effect on a game like Forza Horizon, you’re kidding yourself. There are a TON of gamers who would be turned off from Forza if it didn’t have licensed cars, myself being one of them.
@RIghteousNixon Yep totally agree. It seems like any sport game if you don't have the real teams people aren't going to play it. I remember when the 2K games lost the NFL license and made a game without the NFL teams. Yeah it was a better game the Madden but because it didn't have the NFL license it sold poorly.
Just got my xbox...is this worth playing 4 before it goes or should I just play 5 and leave 4 alone.
Got the Series X version disc release. So I'm safe.
@MikeOrator play 4 and leave 5 alone. 4 is better.
Love the hell out of this series!! Beautiful graphics & scenery! Good thing l already own 3&4 and 2 on disc. Forza 5 next!!
@RazputinAquato
They would need to change all the car models too. If they just changed the names, then the car companies would see it as circumventing the licencing.
@RazputinAquato Completely agree. It's ridiculous that they are removing this from sale. It's still one of the best games on XSX!
They either need to negotiate better licenses OR have a backup plan in place, much like how some games with licensed music have a streamer mode that falls back on alternative non-licensed music.
I'd be perfectly happy for them to use AI for example to change all the models and names for an edition that can still be sold without changing the base game. Gameplay is what makes this game great, not the licenses.
Can I still pay it, if I have on disk
Counterpoint: it’s endless grindy campaign, unholy squashed Map and loot box mechanics for every. Damned. unlockable. makes it the worst in the series.
5 writers a lot of the wrongs with an avatar creator, the ability to buy clothes and a really good campaign.
@KillerBoy you can still play it if you have it on disk, and can redownload if you have it digitally. delisted only means you can't buy it digitally...
@Dimey I see, thank you
I bought "Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition" (on steam) in the past.
Won't I, be able to play it December 2024 onwards?
Is that the case?
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