Forza Horizon 4 is staying on digital storefronts, breaking an unfortunate series tradition

Forza Horizon 4 isn't being delisted yet, it turns out, after fans speculated the racing sequel would meet the same fate as its predecessors. 

Late last month in September, a post on the Forza forums let fellow users know of a sale including Forza Horizon 4, but noted that the game would likely be delisted at the conclusion of the sale. It turns out the sale's end date fell on the four-year anniversary of Forza Horizon 4, which just happens to be when past Forza games have been delisted from digital storefronts.

"Hey everyone, no need to worry, we’re not planning on delisting Forza Horizon 4 anytime soon!" came a response from a Playground-affiliated developer.

For anyone a little confused, developer Playground Games has typically delisted past Forza Horizon games on their fourth anniversaries, taking the first, second, and third games in the saga off storefronts on the anniversary of each game. It's not really clear why Playground Games is finally forgoing this tradition with the fourth game in the series, though.

Speculation on ResetEra points to several possible reasons for this change in attitude. Not only was Forza Horizon 4 the first day one Xbox Game Pass launch for the series, but it was also the first game in the franchise to debut on Steam. Additionally, its promise of a Smart Delivery upgrade for all new-gen Xbox Series X/S owners brought Microsoft some very favorable headlines at the time.

Here's why, four years later, we're still driving around in the smallest, slowest car in Forza Horizon 4.