Forza Horizon 4 to Disappear from Digital Stores Soon

TapTechNews June 26th news, the well-known racing game 'Forza Horizon 4' is about to disappear from digital stores. The developer, PlaygroundGames, announced on its official website that due to issues such as licensing and partnership agreements, this open-world racing game released in 2018 will stop being sold on platforms such as the Microsoft Store and Steam from December 15, 2024.

A few months before it goes off the shelf, the last 'Series' event will be held from July 25th to August 22nd, and after that some achievements related to the 'Seasonal Festival Playground' will be unable to unlock.

What's even more puzzling for players is that starting today, the DLC of 'Forza Horizon 4' will be the first to go off the shelf. But for players who played through XboxGamePass and purchased some DLC, PlaygroundGames provides a compensation plan: they will receive a redemption code that allows them to freely download the full version of the game and continue to play after it goes off the shelf. This redemption code will be distributed to players with a full subscription of XboxGamePass in the coming days and is valid until June 25, 2026.

However, TapTechNews noted that PlaygroundGames stated in its frequently asked questions that the game server will continue to operate after the game goes off the shelf, meaning that both online and offline modes can still be played. This measure, along with the redemption code provided for some players, reflects PlaygroundGames' attempt to mitigate the negative impact brought about by the uncontrollable factor of the expiration of the license.

'Forza Horizon 4' will only have a history of more than 6 years when it goes off the shelf, and the physical version becomes the only way for future players to access this work.诚然, 'Forza Horizon 5' performs excellently as a sequel, but for players, it always feels uncomfortable that a digital game has a'short lifespan' due to licensing issues.