Last lap for Forza Horizon 4 for which 2024 will be its last year of existence before being delisted from all online platforms. But the racing game is not at the end of its life, we explain everything to you.
Video games tend to become increasingly dematerialized while physical versions of games are sold less and less online and in stores. Games are even disappearing from the face of the planet, especially when they are played exclusively online like the late The Crew from Ubisoft.
This year, several games suffered the same fate, but for very different reasons: licensing contracts. Thus, the excellent Spec Ops: The Line can no longer be purchased anywhere due to expired licenses to music by Jimi Hendrix and Martha and the Vandellas.
The latest victim is a game published by Microsoft, Forza Horizon 4which will disappear by the end of the year from all online platforms for the same reason, but the game does not suffer the same sad fate.
A cost reduction strategy
The game developer Playground Games announced on its site that Forza Horizon 4its open world racing game released in 2018, will be delisted from Steam and the Microsoft Store on December 15, 2024 following the end of agreements and licenses with its partners.
Licenses are the lifeblood of racing games that ask prestigious brands like Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar and Lamborghini to reuse their most emblematic models. This is a real argument for players, but a significant budget for developers.
Microsoft has therefore decided not to renew its licensing agreements in view of the game’s low player base, as the publisher did for previous games. The game, however, had a longer lifespan than the latter, which disappeared from platforms 4 years after their release, compared to 6 years for Forza Horizon 4.
Until December, however, players will be able to play the latest in-game event of Forza Horizon 4 which will be held from July 25 until August 22. It will also be possible to complete weekly and monthly challenges with different events in the game.
However, the only DLC for the game has disappeared from digital shelves as of today. Game Pass players who purchased this additional content will be able to download the full game until June 26, 2026 thanks to a token system. The situation is a little complex, but players should find their way around.
A new life for the game?
However, the game will not disappear for players who have purchased it until December 15: the studio has announced that, even if the game will no longer be available for purchase, its servers will remain online for the moment , for physical and dematerialized editions.
The announcement coincides with a promotional period for the game which is currently 80% off as the game has tripled its player base since yesterday. Certainly, his successor Forza Horizon 5 is still doing very well, but the 4th opus remains very popular with players who will be able to continue playing it after it disappears from the market.
However, we cannot help but be saddened by the state of the industry and the preservation of video games while games disappear for reasons of licensing or infrastructure costs. These contracts are never signed for an indefinite period and the publishers do not offer any fallback solution to continue selling the game after the end of these agreements.
Some titles come out with honors like Forza Horizon 4 currently, but also the unloved Redfall which introduced an offline mode in its last update last May as the Arkane Austin studio is about to close.