Xbox killing one of its best open-world games in December

When Forza Motorsport launched for the original Xbox in 2005, following in the footsteps of Project Gotham Racing, it was seen as Microsoft’s competitor to Sony’s Gran Turismo series.

I think it’s fair to say that over the years, Forza Motorsport has become a worthy competitor to Gran Turismo, offering a blend of simulation and arcade racing for those who like to tweak settings to suit their gaming needs. The series also has an open-world spin-off which is arguably the best in its genre with Forza Horizon.

Check out the Forza Horizon 4 trailer below!

The last entry in the spin-off series was in 2021 with Forza Horizon 5 which garnered an impressive score of 92 earning the “Must-Play” accolade on Metacritic. To be honest, if you were able to play the OG Forza Horizon from 2012 on Xbox 360, you’d still find plenty of enjoyment because this series has always been that good.

One of the best entries in the series was in 2018 with Forza Horizon 4 which took us to some of the most stunning locations of the UK including the Lake District, Edinburgh, Cotswolds, the Welsh valleys and more. It was also a very important game for the series as it was the first to implement dynamic seasons which would change on the fly during gameplay.

Sadly however, back in June this year, Xbox gamers were warned that Forza Horizon 4 is to be delisted by Microsoft, meaning that it will no longer be available to purchase from the Xbox Marketplace. Which in turn, also means that it will be removed from the Xbox Game Pass library.

Forza Horizon 4, which will also be delisted on the Steam store on 15 December 2024, is currently available in the ‘Xbox End of Summer Sale’. So, this serves as a PSA to pick up this fantastic racer at a tidy discount.

Forza Horizon 4 is available in three digital bundles and the prices are as follows:

• Forza Horizon 4 Standard Edition - £10.99/$11.99
• Forza Horizon 4 Deluxe Edition - £13.99/$15.99
• Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition - £16.99/$19.99

Out of all the editions available, for the sake of £6, I’d recommend picking up the Ultimate Edition as it includes all DLC released. What’s more, Forza Horizon 4 has also been optimised for Xbox Series X/S, which means that it not only looks extra gorgeous on Microsoft’s most recent console, but it also performs at a super-smooth framerate.

It’s also worth mentioning that if you purchase the digital version of Forza Horizon 4, even after it has been delisted by Microsoft, it will still be available to download and play via your game library.

Forza Horizon 4 is currently available for PC, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One.