Announced earlier this year in June, time is almost up to own Forza Horizon 4! Playground Games announced that the title, which was released back in 2018 and has been superseded by Forza Horizon 5, will no longer be available on Xbox Game Pass or through digital store fronts starting December 15.

The reason? "Licensing and agreements with our partners" says the official Forza blog. It's no surprise, there are a lot of different moving parts to a Forza title which includes licensing troves of music from various artists and record labels, and all the cars in the game. It would be quite costly to look for very long-term licensing deals so at a certain point, they aren't allowed to sell it anymore. It's a bit archaic, but it's the world we live in right now.

With that said, anyone who owns the game can continue to play it online and offline as Playground Games has no intentions of removing the servers. If you want to pick yourself a copy to play on Xbox or PC through the Xbox App, you can find it on Xbox.com at a heavily discounted rate. Interestingly, the Steam version is not currently discounted.

Also, if you purchased non-free DLC previously on Xbox when you had an active Xbox Game Pass subscription, you should have lifetime access to Forza Horizon 4 thanks to a free game token being added to your account earlier this year. This token can be found via the Xbox Message Center. Unused tokens will expire on June 25th 2026 so go claim yours now if you qualify.

And because you want to know about all the Festival Playlist-exclusive cards, every car that was previously Festival Playlist-exclusive will now be available to obtain via Backstage Pass. You will be able to complete daily and weekly challenges as well as Forzathon Live Challenges to earn points and obtain Backstage Passes.

Check out the original announcement post down below.

Quote From Playground Games

Hello, Forza Horizon community! We have to share a couple of updates regarding Forza Horizon 4, its availability, and the changes we are bringing to the Festival Playlist in the near future.

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

Before the delisting date, the Festival Playlist’s flow will change as follows:

  • Starting July 25, we will have the final series for the game in Series 77 which will include the last Festival Playlist that ends on August 22.

  • After Series 77 ends on August 22, you will no longer be able to access the playlist screen, except to see the festival playlist history. When booting the game, you will be taken to the Festival Site screen rather than the Festival Playlist.

  • Even though there won’t be any more Festival Playlists after Series 77 (August 22), you will still be able to see the Forza Events screen which will include a selection of daily and weekly challenges. Completing these challenges and Forzathon Live Events will earn you Forzathon Points that you can exchange for Backstage Passes.

  • We will update the Backstage Pass Cars list with all the remaining cars that have previously been Festival Playlist Exclusive after Series 77.

It's worth mentioning that even though the Festival Playlist is ending, you will still experience Spring, Autumn, Winter, and Summer in-game. So achievements related to seasons will still be unlockable.

Starting today, June 25; Forza Horizon 4’s DLC will get delisted from platforms, meaning that only Forza Horizon 4 Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate versions will be available for purchase from this day until delisting happens.

From this date forward we will offer different discounts for Forza Horizon 4, like the one currently active on Steam (at the time of publishing); we will also have a sale in the Xbox Store on 7/17. Please keep an eye out on our socials and different platforms to take advantage of future offers.

On December 15, Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from stores and Xbox Game Pass. This means the game and its additional content will no longer be available for purchase. Players who already own the game and its content will be able to download and play it as normal, including its offline, online, and multiplayer features; physical copies of the game purchased after this date will also work and will be able to use online features.

If you played Forza Horizon 4 through Xbox Game Pass and purchased DLC content for it, worry not: by having an active, full-paid (not discounted) Xbox Game Pass subscription on 6/25 you will be eligible to receive a game token if you have purchased any extra content for Forza Horizon 4 through your Xbox Message Center. Codes will start to be delivered in the following days, please bear in mind that it might take a while before you get your token.

Unused tokens will expire starting at 6/25/26; if you haven’t received your token by this date, please contact Xbox Support at https://support.xbox.com/en-US/contact-us.

Thank you so much for enjoying the content updates we have brought to this game. Remember to make the most of the remaining time of the Festival Playlist and that when the game is delisted, you’ll still be able to play it as you always have.

If you have any more questions, please refer to our FAQ.