News has reached that Forza Horizon 4The DLC will be delisted from all game stores, with the entire game completely withdrawn from sale on December 15. Popular racing games-Hell, beloved games– From the last decade. Within a few months, it will disappear. Why? Because of the license.
Originally released in 2018, Forza Horizon 4 Brought the famous series to the rural setting of the Cotswolds, England, and beat on everyone With its dry stone walls and mismatched stunts. It was a work of art and a fantastic racing simulator. And while he’s been there ever since Forza Horizon 5This time in Mexico, and just as wonderful, FH4 It still has an active community served by ongoing in-game “Festival Playlist” events (about to start Series 77, which will be its last).
But as developers Playground Games say in a statement It was released on June 25, and soon they won’t be able to sell the game. As it stands, they are being pulled from every online store before Christmas, with items already gone today. The reason given is “licensing and agreements with our partners”.
Due to licensing and agreements with our partners, Forza Horizon 4 will be removed from digital platforms (Microsoft Store and Steam) on December 15, 2024. This means that the game and its additional content will not be available for purchase through online stores.
Honestly, this feels tragic. We are involved Disastrous time to keep the gamewhich was accelerated by the move toward all-digital consoles, and reinforced by the publishing industry Pathologically hostile Toward external attempts to preserve what they will not. But this can happen to a modern, beloved game as well good like FH4it really shows how fast and fast the gaming industry has become.
Playground’s statement doesn’t explain in any detail the licensing issues the game is having (we’ve reached out, of course, to ask), so we don’t know if it’s something as simple as the music used, or as complex as the series of realistic car models in the game. There are over 750 meticulously designed cars from dozens of real-world car manufacturers, each of which must be individually licensed to appear in the game, and during development, the end of contracts with them will likely seem a long way off to them. worry about. FH3 Released just two years ago in 2016, it’s fair to say that the Australian version of the open-world series – while great – hasn’t had the same impact or longevity. So seven years was likely more than enough.
Of course, these new events prove that nothing but going on forever can be enough.
Playground and Microsoft do everything right, nowwhen it comes to Forza Horizon 4. The game is offline 80% discount on Steam, with similar discounts planned on the Xbox Store come mid-July. The companies are encouraging people to make sure they own full copies (rather than accessing them via Game Pass), promising that they will still be available for download, and will still be playable offline and online, while maintaining the multiplayer features. Well, in the short term at least.
Playground also said that those who purchased the downloadable content for FH4 While the Game Pass version is on, they will soon – if they have an active, full-priced (as in non-discounted) Game Pass subscription at the moment – receive a “Game Token”, valid until July 2026, to ensure you don’t need to purchase it again. It will disappear from Game Pass on December 15.
But this naturally leaves the huge question: what about it? Forza Horizon 5? What about last year? rare forza motorsport? Will we say goodbye to those forever in 2028 or 2030? (Again, we asked).
It is worth noting that the release schedules for Forza Gaming has changed, with games becoming bigger and more involved. In the 2000s, there was a new alternative Horizon or Motorsport every year. They were, in a sense, more “disposable.” But since 2018, we have only had two more games. It has now been three years since there has been a new one Horizon-The longest hiatus since the series began in 2012, and it was not mentioned FH6 During each summer scouting. Loss Forza Horizon 4 This year is much more impactful as a result.
There is no doubt that the answer must be to establish emergency conditions in relation to licensing? Yes, I suppose that’s actually true. far It’s easier (although still very difficult) to accurately design 750 real cars, rather than imagine up to 750 fully archetypes that don’t conflict with anything that already exists. But also, you know, we don’t actually do that Need 750 cars. 100 would be a lot! But at the very least, there are a bunch of cars in the game We are Completely authentic models from the store’s brands representing both the most entertaining archetypes, which can be left in the game until the heat death of the universe. Warn players that everything else has a seven-year shelf life (or whatever), so they still have a playable and – more importantly – salable game at the end of those contracts.
This would certainly sway those who play these games for the realism, and accurate depiction of the cars that delivers the most important simulation aspect. However, it will still allow Gears fans the same amount of time with the game as before, but also provide a way to continue selling the product later on. It would certainly lose a lot of its identity, which is not an ideal solution. Permanent contracts are the ideal solution. But maybe it’s better than never selling the game again?
This, of course, is not exclusively aimed at Forza. This is the common-sense approach we desperately need every studio to implement when building games around licensed properties. It is unfortunate that we are losing a lot of artwork in this company, and now, today, it is impossible to reach such a short-sighted position. (Not to mention that these studios have been completely screwed over by their licensors, given the game’s e.g Forza It is the most extraordinary advertisement for car manufacturers.)
Licensing makes perfect sense to get a game’s flashy look or sound. But unless permanent contracts become the norm, contingencies arise He should They are built from the ground up.
And hell, there’s no movie you can’t watch right now because the main character drove an Audi. (In fact, Audi probably paid a huge sum of money to have its car appear in the film.) No book is unpublishable because the protagonist drank Coca-Cola. We can’t let games disappear for the sake of these short-term deals.
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