Forza Horizon 4 is set to be delisted from all official stores, rendering it unable to be purchased from December 15 onwards. The removal is in lieu of the eventual expiration of its licenses and partner agreements made in its development and release.
Forza Horizon 4 to be Removed From all Official Stores
Players Have Until December 15, 2024 to Purchase the Game to Keep Afterwards
Forza developers Playground Games has announced that Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from all official storefronts(Steam and Microsoft Store) by December 15, 2024 due to the expiry of licenses and agreements with their partners. Those who already own the game do not need to worry as they will still be able to access and play the game, be it offline or online with multiplayer.
Xbox Game Pass subscribers who played Forza Horizon 4 through their subscription will be subject to avail the full Standard Edition of the game, provided that they have a fully-paid (not discounted) Game Pass subscription AND have bought DLC or any extra content for the game BEFORE the time of the delisting announcement, June 25, 2024. Those eligible will receive redeemable game tokens to be sent over the course of the following days.
The abrupt conditions of DLC needing to be bought before the announcement to be able to avail the full game were as such due to all Forza Horizon 4 DLC being delisted on the same day. Starting from June 25, fans can no longer purchase any of the previously available Forza Horizon 4 DLC, leaving them only able to buy the various editions of the game–Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate.
Many Forza Horizon fans can recall that the same delisting due to license expiry occurred once before for the series in Forza Horizon 3, where it was delisted back in 2020 under the same conditions. FH3 was released in 2016 and was taken off of official stores 4 years later in 2020. FH4 released in 2018 and is now set to be removed 6 years later in 2024. Could Forza Horizon 5 share the same fate, and perhaps be delisted in 6-8 years in 2027-2029 after its release in 2021?
One Last Race in the Final Festival Playlist
To say goodbye to the game, Forza Horizon 4 will be holding its last Festival Playlist in Series 77 which will start from July 25 to August 22, 2024. This will be the last chance for players to earn specific achievements concerning the Festival Playlist races. The following table contains all the eventually-unobtainable achievements:
| Achievement | Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A Creature of Habit | 15 | Complete all Seasonal Championships in a Festival Playlist Series |
| Stunt Puller | 15 | Complete all Seasonal PR Stunts in a Festival Playlist Series |
| Cashing In | 20 | Earn 1 Season Completion Bonus |
| Perfectionist | 30 | Earn all 8 Season Completion Bonuses in the same Series |
| Encore? | 50 | Complete all activities in a single Festival Playlist Series |
After the Series ends on August 22, trying to access the playlist screen will only show the festival playlist history. The events screen will then hold daily and weekly challenges that will award Forzathon points that could be used to get Backstage Passes. These Backstage Passes will be important, as the previously exclusive cars only obtainable from Festival Playlists will now be added to the Backstage Pass Cars list, giving future players the opportunity to still acquire said exclusive cars regardless of the discontinuation of the game and its Series.
Source:
Changes in Forza Horizon 4’s Festival Playlist and Delisting from Digital Stores.
