Forza Horizon 4

Forza Horizon 4 is a freely accessible open-world racing game by Playground Games. The Horizon festival takes you through a condensed version of Great Britain, with cities, country roads, hills and coastlines. Instead of one fixed race track, you get road races, off-road competitions, stunts and open exploration.

The fourth entry focuses on changing seasons, a large car selection and shared drives in a connected game world.

Forza Horizon 4 released on October 2, 2018 for Xbox One and Windows PCs. The Ultimate Edition could be played from September 28, 2018. A technically optimised version followed with the launch of Xbox Series X|S on November 10, 2020. On Steam, the racing game came out on March 9, 2021.

Since December 15, 2024, Forza Horizon 4 is no longer sold through the Microsoft Store or Steam as a regular release. Owners can still download the game and play it offline and online.

Forza Horizon 4 launched natively on PC and Xbox One. Since November 2020, an optimised version with shorter loading times and a higher frame rate has been available on Xbox Series X|S. According to Microsoft, on Xbox Series X this version supports 4K at 60 frames per second.

The Steam version came out later than the original Windows version. Online features on Steam are meant to link with Xbox Live. Save games from the Steam version cannot be transferred directly to the Microsoft Store and console versions.

Forza Horizon 4 combines road races, dirt competitions, cross-country routes and freely accessible challenges. Driving assists, tuning and a choice of different cars allow both relaxed driving and more demanding races.

Progress does not come only from race wins. Speed traps, ramps, photo spots and stories with their own car challenges also reward exploration. Between competitions, you can buy, collect and tune cars.

The Fortune Island expansion opens an additional island with its own race and exploration challenges. LEGO Speed Champions adds a game world built from LEGO bricks, challenges and matching race cars.

The Ultimate Edition included both major expansions as well as additional car packs and perks. Individual DLCs were removed from digital sale on June 25, 2024. Add-ons that were already purchased remain usable for their owners.

For the PC version, the minimum listed is Windows 10 64-bit, 8 GB RAM, a GeForce GTX 650 Ti or Radeon R7 250X and about 80 GB of free storage. Recommended are 12 GB RAM, a GeForce GTX 970, GTX 1060 3 GB or a comparable Radeon graphics card and around 100 GB of storage space.

These details refer to Forza Horizon 4, not to the sequel Forza Horizon 5.

Spring, summer, autumn and winter change not only the landscape but also driving conditions in Forza Horizon 4. Snow and ice affect handling in winter, while other track sections and shortcuts are easier to reach depending on the season.

The regular season change is part of the core game system. The four seasons keep running even after the final Festival Playlist ended in August 2024.

Forza Horizon 4 offers shared drives, co-op challenges and races against other drivers. Players on Xbox consoles and Windows PC can drive together, including across the Steam version.

The December 2024 sales stop did not switch off the online features. Anyone who owns the game can keep using the multiplayer offerings, as long as the related services are available.

The car selection ranges from classic sports cars through modern supercars to rally and off-road vehicles. Cars can be changed visually and modified with technical upgrades to suit the desired race class.

New cars can be added through progression, events and other permanent game systems. The differences between vehicle classes shape route choice and how the car handles.

Forza Horizon 4 disappeared from the Microsoft Store and Steam on Dec 15, 2024 due to expiring licence and partner agreements. Availability on Game Pass also ended at that time.

Anyone who already owns the game keeps access to downloads and to the playable offline and online features. Used physical Xbox versions can also still be used. The removal of the final Festival playlist does not mean that the seasons or all challenges have been switched off.

The PC version of Forza Horizon 4 offers a German interface, German subtitles and German voice-over. Controllers are supported alongside keyboard and mouse. Online multiplayer and connecting an Xbox account are part of the feature set of the Steam version.