Xbox users warned as exclusive game set to be delisted forever this month

One of Microsoft’s most popular exclusives is getting delisted from all online platforms on December 15, which means that you only have two weeks left to grab the game and any of its accompanying downloadable content before they’re gone for good.

If you ask me, there are currently three series that make an Xbox worth owning: Halo, Gears of War, and Forza.

Barring whatever the future holds for Microsoft’s recent purchases of Activision and Bethesda, I think it’s fair to say that their consoles have been a little light on the exclusives side of things in the past few years - at least when compared to the likes of the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 5.

Which is why the recent news of Forza Horizon 4’s delisting stings harder than usual, because I think you could justifiably argue that it’s easily one of the Xbox Series X/S’s best exclusives.

So, what does “delisting” mean exactly? Here’s the official explanation directly from the horse’s mouth, over on the Forza website.

“Due to licensing and agreements with our partners, Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from digital platforms (Microsoft Store and Steam) on December 15, 2024,” reads the press release.

Take a look at the game in action below.

“This means the game and its additional content will no longer be available for purchase through online stores.”

Those “licensing and agreements” they’re referring to actually relate to the cars featured in the game.

Forza Horizon 4 features a bunch of real cars from real manufacturers, such as Ferrari, BMW and Aston Martin. The rights to feature the cars in the game are, in a sense, only rented.

Assumedly, the car manufacturers aren’t willing to let these brands feature in the game in perpetuity, which would mean that the publishers of Forza Horizon 4 would have to pay to renew them - something that wouldn’t make financial sense to do for a six-year-old game.

If you’ve ever wondered why some racing games just make up fake brands for the cars in them, this is why.

Back in 2004, Need for Speed: Underground 2 (for example) was allowed to get away with featuring real cars in the game because digital storefronts weren’t really a thing yet, so removing the title from sale wasn’t an issue. It is probably why the game has never seen a re-release on Steam, though.

If you’re curious about learning more about which delisted games are no longer available and the reasons behind their removals, I highly suggest giving the site Delisted Games a look.

And, if you’re an EU citizen, there’s always the Stop Killing Games petition to sign.