Last week I did something a bit strange. I purchased an Xbox game despite the fact that I don't have an Xbox console. I don't have a gaming PC either, so it's not like I was looking to take advantage of Xbox Play Anywhere. The reason I bought Forza Horizon 4 is because it was scheduled to be delisted from digital storefronts due to licensing agreements. Unfortunately, the day has come and gone, so you can no longer buy Forza Horizon 4 through digital storefronts. You can, however, purchase digital codes and activate them.

Should you buy Forza Horizon 4 in 2024 and beyond?

If you're an avid gamer or are familiar with the Forza franchise, all of this may not be surprising or confusing. Forza Horizon 4 is not the first game from the series to be delisted and it won't be the last, but I admit I was a bit caught off guard by the game going away. Our Zachary Boddy flagged up the delisting date, so I grabbed Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition at a discount through the Microsoft Store so I have the game in my library. I plan to get an Xbox console in the future, so Forza Horizon 4 will be waiting for me when that day comes.

You can no longer purchase Forza Horizon 4 through the Microsoft Store, but you can purchase the game. You just need to buy a digital code (or find a physical copy) rather than buy the title through a digital storefront. Right now, Amazon still has stock of Forza Horizon 4 digital codes. The Standard ($9.99), Deluxe ($14.99), and Ultimate ($19.99) editions are all available at the time of publication.

While digital codes for Forza Horizon 4 will continue to work, it's not clear how many of the codes are left. Once a retailer runs out of stock, it's unlikely they will get any more, though I suppose Amazon could buy more from a different retailer. My main point is that access to Forza Horizon 4 is becoming increasingly limited.

Forza Horizon 4 earned praise when it launched and has since gotten better thanks to the addition of the LEGO Speed Champions experience, the Fortune Island DLC, a pack of Hot Wheels cars, and several car packs.

Since Forza Horizon 5 is available and earned a perfect score in our review, you may be tempted to think it's not worth grabbing Forza Horizon 4. There was a jump in graphics and in some other areas between Forza Horizon 4 and Forza Horizon 5, but the former is still an excellent game. Forza Horizon titles do an great job of immersing you into the world's they're based on, such as Forza Horizon 4 being based on the UK and Forza Horizon 5 being based on Mexico. Limiting yourself to just Forza Horizon 5 would be like saying it's only worth taking a vacation to one country.

• Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from digital storefronts on December 15.
• After that, you will be unable to purchase the game digitally.
• Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition is on sale for 80% off right now.

I just bought an Xbox game despite the fact that I don't have an Xbox or a gaming PC. The game I bought was not a collector's edition with special box art or even a physical version of the game. No, it was Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition. While Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition is 80% off right now, the discount is not the main reason I purchased the game, and neither is the fact that apparently anything with a screen is an Xbox. I grabbed it because as of next week, I will not be able to buy the game through digital storefronts.

Due to licensing agreements, Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from digital storefronts on December 15, 2024. After that date, it will be impossible to purchase the game or its DLC expansions through those storefronts. You may be able to find digital codes or physical copies of the game after this week, but the door to purchasing the game through digital storefronts will close soon.

I've wanted to play Forza Horizon 4 for a while since the game is based in the UK (I live in Nottingham, England). The LEGO DLC also looks like a blast. But I've never gotten around to playing it extensively since I don't have an Xbox Series X or an Xbox Series S. Admittedly, I can stream Forza Horizon 4 through my Samsung TV using Xbox Cloud Gaming — though that option will go away this week. But in the future, I want to enjoy Forza Horizon 4 at its best, and that will be on an Xbox Series X or a gaming PC.

Forza Horizon 4 first launched in 2018, but it has since been enhanced for Xbox Series X. It's also received two DLC expansions and a bunch of new cars in that time, including a LEGO Speed Champions experience and a pack of Hot Wheels cars. Considering our Richard Devine said "Forza Horizon 4 can be summed up with a single word: Masterpiece" back in 2024 and the game has gotten better since then, paying under $20 is a great value.

Just the LEGO Speed Champions DLC cost $20 when it was new. Back then, Devine said that the DLC was "one of the most fun things you'll play all year" and added that "if you needed an excuse to get back into Forza Horizon 4, this is it." Back then, I didn't have an Xbox so it seemed silly to buy a game. But considering Forza Horizon 4 is about to be removed from digital storefronts, I've bit the bullet and grabbed the game since I plan to get an Xbox in the future.

Is Forza Horizon 4 going away?

Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from digital storefronts on December 15, 2024, but that doesn't mean the game will become unplayable. If you already have the game, you'll still be able to enjoy it. Even online multiplayer will stick around after the game is delisted.

Our Zachary Boddy has a full piece explaining why Forza Horizon 4 will be removed from digital storefronts. There, they answer questions like when Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted, if you'll lose access to Forza Horizon 4, and if you'll be able to buy Forza Horizon 4 after its end-of-life date.

The long-in-short is that if you already have the game, you'll be able to continue to play it. You need to buy the game before December 15, 2024. That's why I'm grabbing it now, so it's in my digital game library.

While the game will be available until December 15, 2024, you should grab it right away if you know you want it in your library. Right now, Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition is 80% off but that sale ends on December 12, 2024. Other versions of the game are also discounted, but the Ultimate Edition includes two DLC expansions and a bunch of cars and perks. After Forza Horizon 4 is delisted, you will not be able to purchase DLC content for it. If you want to enjoy the Fortune Island and LEGO Speed Champions, you need to grab them now. Forza Horizon Ultimate Edition is the best way to do that.

Forza Horizon 5 took millions of racers to the diverse Mexican landscape, and it enjoys monthly content updates adding new cars, races, and features. Three years after its release, and FH5 is still going strong. Many fondly remember the game that came before, though, and for that title the future isn't looking as positive. Months after it was announced, Forza Horizon 4's end-of-life date is mere days away.

Released in Oct. 2018, Forza Horizon 4 brought the legendary open-world arcade racing series to the United Kingdom for the first time. FH4 was a huge success for Xbox and Playground Games, and performed well during its three-year tenure before Forza Horizon 5 arrived. Now, another three years later, and FH4 is set to be permanently delisted from all digital storefronts on Dec. 15, 2024, meaning right now is your last chance to buy the game and add it to your library forever.

And I do mean right now — you can buy Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition (Xbox & PC) for $19.99 at Amazon, an 80% discount that includes the base game, its two DLC expansions, and a ton of DLC cars and perks, but that sale ends on Dec. 12, 2024, according to Xbox.

The end of an era, and signs of things to come

Forza Horizon 4 was released on Oct. 2, 2018 for Xbox One and Windows PC, and enjoyed regular content updates and car additions until July 2021. Credit where credit is due, that's already a much longer life span than the three Forza Horizons that came before it, and FH4 has continued to be available and playable for more than three years since. Its delisting means the close of an era, but it's not all bad news.

Racing games like Forza are often subject to eventual delistings because it costs a lot of money to license the car brands and official music that go into these games. For most of Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport, that meant shutting down four years after release, with content updates ending two years after release (to make way for the next entry).

Forza Horizon 4 enjoyed updates for an additional year and has been available to purchase for three more on top of that, though, which bodes well for Forza Horizon 5 — a game that shows zero signs of slowing down over three years after it released in 2021. There's no information on when FH5 will eventually be delisted (as it surely must), but it's still getting new cars (and even new music) every month.

As for Forza Horizon 4, what exactly does "end-of-life" mean? Well, Xbox Game Studios and Playground Games will permanently delist FH4 from all digital storefronts, including the Microsoft Store and Steam, and the game will be completely removed from Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and other subscriptions it may be a part of. All Forza Horizon 4 DLC will also be delisted.

This does not mean Forza Horizon 4 will become unplayable. Those with physical copies or who already own the digital game will be able to download and play FH4 like normal and into perpetuity, with access to all their content. Basically, you need to own the game before it's delisted on Dec. 15, 2024, or you won't be able to play it (unless you buy a digital code or physical copy from third-party retailers).

That gives you two weeks! This is the time to pick up the base game, expansions, car pass, and any other DLC you were missing before Forza Horizon 4 disappears. A great place to start is buying Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition for $19.99 at Amazon, which includes most of the game's content and DLC.

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4, developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios, is being removed from Xbox Game Pass and delisted from storefronts.
• Playground Games has announced that the game is in "end of life" status.
• Players who purchased a digital or physical copy of the game will continue to be able to play it after it is delisted.
• Xbox has begun issuing copies of Forza Horizon 4 to players who purchased DLC for the game but accessed the base game via Xbox Game Pass.

It was previously reported that Forza Horizon 4 is to be delisted at the end of this year, according to developers Playground Games. The title was released in 2018 to critical and commercial acclaim. Like previous Forza titles, the game will be removed from storefronts and Xbox Game Pass as the licensing agreements for music and cars come to an end. 

Xbox messages have begun going out to Xbox Game Pass subscribers who have purchased DLC with a free copy of the Forza Horizon 4 digital Standard Edition to keep. Users must have a fully paid (not discounted) Xbox Game Pass subscription as of June 25 and have purchased add-on content for Forza Horizon 4. If you are eligible for a code, you can find it in your Xbox Message Center. Code distribution is staggered, so some users may need to wait a few days before their code is delivered.

Forza Horizon 4 is set to leave Xbox Game Pass and be delisted from storefronts, including Steam, on December 15, 2024.

Xbox's announcement that all first-party games would join the Xbox Game Pass service and remain there in perpetuity has been tested by the expiration of game licenses in the past. Quantum Break previously left the service because of suspected licensing issues, though it was eventually added back to the catalog. Licensing issues may, in part, be what is causing delays in the recently acquired Activision Blizzard King properties from making the way to Xbox Game Pass. Forza titles are regularly delisted as they reach end-of-life when the licensing period comes to an end, revolving around car brands and music licensing. Of course as noted, if you own the game, you get to keep it forever. 

More players have embraced playing base games via Xbox Game Pass, then purchasing DLC or other content upgrades they can no longer access when the game leaves the service. Providing free copies of the game, as Xbox is doing with Forza Horizon 4, seems to be a way to get ahead of a negative customer experience. This ensures that even when the game is delisted and removed from Game Pass, it is still available to those who have invested in it. It is unlikely this benefit would ever expand beyond first-party properties leaving the service, however. 

Despite being removed from storefronts on Xbox, the Microsoft Store, and Steam, Forza Horizon 4 will remain playable for those who own the game, complete with full multiplayer functionality. However, the Festival playlist will close with the end of Series 77 on August 22. The end of the Festival playlist will also lead to some of the game's Xbox achievements becoming unobtainable. 

What you need to know

• Developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios, Forza Horizon 4 first launched in 2018 to critical acclaim and commercial success. 
• Like prior Forza games, Forza Horizon 4 is reaching "end of life" status, meaning the game will be delisted from digital stores and removed from Xbox Game Pass on Dec. 15, 2024. 
• Anyone who purchases a digital or physical copy of Forza Horizon 4 will continue to be able to play the game after it is delisted.
• Forza Horizon 4 is on sale for Windows PC players via Steam right now, with an Xbox store sale coming on July 14, 2024. 

A phenomenal game is leaving storefronts later this year. 

Forza Horizon 4 is set to be delisted from the Xbox Store and Steam on Dec. 14, 2024, at which point it will also be removed from Xbox Game Pass, Playground Games and Xbox shared on Tuesday. Like with prior Forza games that have been delisted, this is due to licensing agreements with various partners whose support was required for the game, as relates to music tracks and specific cars being included. 

Anyone that has purchased Forza Horizon 4 (digitally or physically) will continue to be able to play the game after it's delisted. Different discounts will be available in the lead-up to the game's delisting, ensuring players have a chance to buy Forza Horizon 4 at a heavily-reduced price before it's no longer available. A Steam sale is live right now, while an Xbox sale will be available on July 14, 2024.

Additionally, anyone that has played Forza Horizon 4 through Xbox Game Pass and purchased some DLC that is still subscribed to the service as of today will be receiving a game code through their Xbox messages in the coming weeks. 

Will you still be able to play Forza Horizon 4 multiplayer?

Yes, Forza Horizon 4 will still be playable online and with full multiplayer functionality after it is delisted. While it is possible the game servers will eventually be turned off, that's not going to be the case for some time. 

It is important to note however that Series 77, which begins on July 25, will be the last Festival Playlist. Once it ends on August 22, there will no longer be a Festival Playlist. This means that Series 77 is your last chance to earn the following Achievements: A Creature of Habit, Stunt Puller, Cashing In, and Perfectionist.

Forza Horizon is one of the biggest brands for Xbox

Initially built by Playground Games as a spin-off of the mainline Forza Motorsport franchise, Forza Horizon quickly grew as a juggernaut for Xbox, with Playground Games and Turn 10 working together on the ForzaTech engine to power both franchises. This engine is also being used for the Fable reboot, which is being developed by a second studio at Playground Games and is slated to launch in 2025.

Each Forza Horizon game has been critically praised with incredible regularity and reliability, and Forza Horizon 4 reached 24 million players by November 2020. Its successor, Forza Horizon 5, launched in 2021 and has reached over 34 million players as of several months ago, player counts that cement Forza Horizon as one of the biggest Xbox brands. 

As a far more recently released game, Forza Horizon 5 remains available for purchase, and is also available in Xbox Game Pass. 

Analysis: A titan is going to sleep

Forza Horizon 4 is a fantastic game, one of my favorites of 2018. While it's certainly a bit sad to see that it's finally going to be delisted, this isn't anything new when it comes to Forza games due to the licensing agreements that go into these titles. Fortunately players have a healthy heads-up as to when the game will no longer be available, so if anyone hasn't bought it yet, this is the time to make sure you can keep it forever. 

In our review of Forza Horizon 4, my colleague Richard Devine wrote that "As it stands today, Forza Horizon 4 is the best racing game you can get on the Xbox One. As ever, it's not trying to be a simulator, but the combination of real-world vehicles, not entirely arcadey physics and a big open playground packed full of entertainment is hard to beat."

What you need to know

• Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is an important holiday in Hispanic and Latin America cultures to honor those who have passed on.
• To help celebrate Día de Muertos, Xbox has collaborated with actor Xolo Maridueña to create a custom car in Forza Horizon 4.
• The unique 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray is decked out in brilliant colors and designs, and looks incredible.
• Anyone who signs into Forza Horizon 4 (or FH5) before Dec. 31, 2021 can add the car to their garage for free through the Message Center.

The Day of the Dead is approaching, being celebrated in Mexico and other parts of the world on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, and Xbox is looking to get in on the celebrations. In collaboration with actor Xolo Maridueña, Xbox has created a custom livery for Día de Muertos in Forza Horizon 4, built on the powerful and sleek 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray. The colorful and geometric designs of the livery are an appropriate homage to everything that makes Día de Muertos special, even if it's just a small gesture in a video game.

Of course, this isn't a one-off design. Any player who logs into Forza Horizon 4 before Dec. 31, 2021 can add the Día de Muertos liveried car to their collection for free, just by redeeming it through the in-game Message Center. Even better, this car will also be given to players for free in Forza Horizon 5, which launches in early access on Nov. 5, 2021 (with a wider release on Nov. 9). Combined with Forza Horizon 5's Loyalty Rewards, many players are going to start off with a pretty impressive garage in FH5.

Forza Horizon 5 is the next chapter of Forza Horizon, and brings the long-running series to Mexico with its largest and most diverse map yet. In our Forza Horizon 5 preview, we were given plenty of reasons to believe that Forza Horizon 5 is destined to be one of the best Xbox racing games of all time.

Forza Horizon 5 is now available to preorder, and officially releases in one week for some players (Nov. 5). If you want to get into the game as soon as possible, here's when Forza Horizon 5 launches, and how you can preload.

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 may be poised to be replaced by the incredible-looking Forza Horizon 5 later this year, but the game isn't done yet.
• Forza Horizon 4 has just released its Series 37 Update, which includes new challenges and events, a new supercar, and a new Super7 game mode.
• Playground Games has already shared some of its plans for Forza Horizon 4 leading up to the launch of Forza Horizon 5.
• Starting with next month's Series 38 Update, Forza Horizon 4 will revisit some of the best rewards, championships, and challenges from earlier updates.

Forza Horizon 4 insists on shocking its community by continuously releasing updates and post-launch support, even a full three years after its original release in 2018. Playground Games has released the Series 37 Update for Forza Horizon 4, which includes new seasonal challenges and rewards, a Mexican supercar, and a new game mode for Super7. Arguably even more significantly, Playground Games has also shared some of its plans for FH4, as Forza Horizon 5 is right around the corner.

First, let's get the Series 37 Update out of the way. Forza Horizon 4 is introducing a new wave of challenges, events, and rewards, as per usual. On top of that, the Series 37 Update introduces a brand-new supercar with the 2017 VUHL 05RR. This is the first-ever supercar to hail from Mexico, and is satisfyingly appropriate with Forza Horizon 5 being Mexico-bound later this year. Finally, the High Stakes mode in Super7 gives players a chance at fantastic prizes and exclusive rewards, in exchange for massively increased risk.

Players invested in Forza Horizon 4 will hopefully find lots to love in the Series 37 Update, but it's also important to note that Forza Horizon 4 is far from finished. Playground has confirmed that more updates are planned for Forza Horizon 4's future, and the studio is committed to ensuring the game is a fun and fresh experience even after Forza Horizon 5 is released, with continued support for bug fixes and issues. They'll share more details as we get closer to FH5, but Playground has shared some info on next month's Series 38 Update today.

The Series 38 Update coming next month will begin a "best hits" of sorts for Forza Horizon 4, by revisiting some of the best challenges, events, and championships from Series 7 to Series 32. This means players will also get another chance to add exclusive and rare cars to their collections if they missed them the first time around. It's awesome to see FH4 get so much love so long after release, and it paints a hopeful picture for Forza Horizon 5 in the years to come.

Forza Horizon 5 is the next entry in the open-world Forza Horizon franchise, and takes the racing series to Mexico. Forza Horizon 5 releases on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming on November 9, 2021, and is now available for preorder. Forza Horizon 4 is already one of the best Xbox racing games, and the chances are good that Forza Horizon 5 will continue the trend and become one of the best Xbox games around.

If you want to learn more, be sure to check out our ultimate guide to Forza Horizon 5.

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 arrived on Steam in March, three years after its initial Xbox and Microsoft Store launch.
• It had a less-than-ideal debut on Steam.
• The game's April 14 Steam patch made things worse for many players.

Forza Horizon 4 initially launched in 2018 for Xbox One and PC via the Microsoft Store. It was nearly universally praised, with both the base game and Lego Speed Champions expansion earning perfect scores from us here at Windows Central. Now, three years later, Microsoft has brought the lauded racer to Steam, though not in a way that's left everyone happy.

Ignoring the fact that many Steam users were displeased that the Steam version of Forza Horizon 4 launched at full price even though it's a three-year-old game (the debate over value depreciation of digital entertainment is a topic for another time), there was a much more concrete issue on day one: a large number of players were encountering game-crippling technical bugs, including hard crashes and unplayable amounts of stuttering.

Now, the situation's gotten even worse for many players. On April 14, a new patch was dropped for the game. The patch notes were bizarrely vague and curt, simply saying "various stability improvements" without any direct address of players' issues.

In the comments of that patch notification, hundreds of Steam users have complained that stuttering and crashes persist, and in many cases, have gotten even worse, now extending beyond cutscenes and race transitions and into the moment-to-moment gameplay itself. In addition, posts and comments about the patch's negative effects are clogging up the game's Steam discussions forum page.

It was bad enough that a racing game all about flow and rhythm had micro stuttering and normal stuttering during every cutscene, including every race's intro and outro, but the latest patch has extended stuttering issues to the actual gameplay in ways that not everyone was experiencing before. Of the game's 7,000-plus negative Steam reviews — roughly 25% of the game's 28,000-plus review total on Steam — thousands of aggrieved users mention these technical hiccups as the main reason for giving an otherwise enjoyable game a firm thumbs down.

The worst part isn't just that the game's Steam launch was imperfect, or that the April 14 patch made things worse for many, but that the Microsoft Store version of the game suffers from none of these issues. For a frame of reference, you can play the Microsoft Store version with an NVIDIA GTX 960, AMD FX-8320, and 8GB of RAM and never see a millisecond of stutter across cutscenes or gameplay, whereas currently, with the Steam port, having an NVIDIA RTX 3070, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, and 16GB of RAM won't save you from micro stuttering insanity across the board.

This situation brings up bad memories of when the reverse scenario happened with Quantum Break for PC. In that game's case, the Microsoft Store version was a bit of a mess and was never updated to be on par with the superior, later-released Steam version. Let's hope that Forza Horizon 4 on PC receives a happier overall ending than Quantum Break did.

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 is gearing up to release the Series 34 update sometime next week.
• The headlining feature of the Series 34 update is two new cars—the 1968 Pontiac Firebird and the 1963 Porsche 356 Emory Outlaw RSR.
• Alongside the new cars, the Series 34 update should fix some server disconnect issues, crashing and performance issues on Steam, and steering wheel bugs.

Forza Horizon 4, hands-down one of the best racing games ever made, just hosted a livestream today to reveal the details of its upcoming Series 34 update. This update will be relatively modest for Forza Horizon 4, but still plans to add two awesome new cars and fix a few critical bugs in the game. Forza Horizon 4 players, prepare for the arrival of the 1968 Pontiac Firebird and the 1963 Porsche 356 Outlaw RSR, two gorgeous cars.

On top of the two new car additions, the Series 34 update for Forza Horizon 4 is also planning to fix some important bugs, most notably:

• Server disconnect and multiplayer issues
• Stuttering, crashing, and performance issues on Steam
• Steering wheel bugs on Steam

There's not an exact release date for the Series 34 update for Forza Horizon 4 yet, but it should be available for players sometime next week.

Forza Horizon 4 is undoubtedly one of the greatest racing games around, and is available for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC platforms. It's also available through Xbox Game Pass, so you can try out the game before buying it. Not only is Forza Horizon 4 one of the best games on Xbox Game Pass, it's also just one of the best Xbox games period.

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 is an open-world racing game from Xbox Game Studios and Playground Games.
• The game is already available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows 10, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming (Project xCloud).
• Now, Forza Horizon 4 is also available on Steam, alongside all of its previously launched DLC and expansions, with cross-play support.
• To celebrate Forza Horizon 4's launch on Steam, players who jump in with their Xbox Account can gain a free car until March 14.

Just as it was promised last month, Xbox is releasing Forza Horizon 4 on Steam (from Xbox Wire). This move further solidifies Microsoft's commitment to bringing more Xbox Game Studios titles to Steam. It will hopefully open Forza Horizon 4 up to a whole new group of players.

Forza Horizon 4 on Steam has three separate editions to choose from and offers all of its existing DLC and expansions for individual purchase. Also launching today is the Hot Wheels Legends Car Pack, which includes new cars joining the absolutely massive roster of vehicles already present in Forza Horizon 4.

Forza Horizon 4 is available right now on Steam, and includes full cross-play support. That means Forza Horizon 4 players can race together no matter where they game, including Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Windows 10, Xbox Game Pass, and even Xbox Cloud Gaming (Project xCloud) on mobile devices through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

To celebrate the launch, any Forza Horizon 4 players who log-in with their Xbox Account attached can add the 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS car to their collections for free. This promotion is available until March 14, and will send players a message to redeem their free car when they next log-in.

Forza Horizon 4 is an excellent racing game, and currently sits on top of our list for Best Racing Games for Xbox. If you want to get the most out of Forza Horizon 4 on Xbox or PC, consider one of the Best Headsets for Xbox Series X|S. These headsets often work with both Xbox and PC, and will offer the best audio experience you could ask for, no matter where or what you're playing.

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 is an industry-leading arcade racing game from Microsoft.
• It's now heading to Steam for Windows PC, set for launch on March 9.
• It will feature cross-play with the Xbox and Microsoft Store PC versions of the game.

Announced today via Xbox Wire, Microsoft is bringing Forza Horizon 4 to Steam for the first time. Forza Horizon 4 is the fourth entry in Microsoft's industry-leading arcade racing franchise, set in a lovingly-recreated British countryside.

Users who grab the Steam version of Forza Horizon 4 will also get cross-play with users on the Xbox and Microsoft Store versions of the game, across Xbox Game Pass for consoles, PC, and mobile devices.

Forza Horizon 4 drops onto Steam on March 9, alongside all the previous paid DLC packs and updates. Available expansions include the Fortune Island DLC, which features treacherous terrain and aggressive weather patterns. It also includes the Lego Speed Champions expansion, which transforms the terrain into Lego-like blocks.

There's also the spy-inspired Best of Bond Car Pack, the classic-styled Barrett-Jackson Car Pack, and the all-new previously leaked Hot Wheels Car Pack, all expanding the complete Forza Horizon 4 car list to more than 600 vehicles. The Hot Wheels Car Pack has no listed launch date as of writing, but it should be out sometime before the Steam version drops in March, hopefully.

Microsoft has seen a ton of success on Steam in recent years, with Sea of Thieves, Age of Empires, and Microsoft Flight Simulator dominating the charts all over the summer of last year. This is despite the fact that all Microsoft-made games are available day one in Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which gives you blanket access to a massive library of over 200 games for a relatively low monthly fee.

The inclusion of Forza Horizon 4, and the commitment to bring Halo Infinite to Steam in the future should be indicative of Microsoft's intent to support Valve's platform in addition to its own.

Xbox Series X/S

Main

• Xbox Series X: Everything we know
• Best games coming to Xbox Series X/S
• List of Xbox Series X specs
• What is the Xbox Series X release date?
• How much does Xbox Series X cost?
• Why you can't preorder Xbox Series X yet
• Best Xbox Series X Headsets

What you need to know

• Visual Studio 2019 has several improvements that speed up build and link time for game developers.
• The improvements help developers of games such as Forza Horizon 4 spend more time writing code.
• Link times in Visual Studio 2019 are 18.15 times faster than in Visual Studio 2017.

Visual Studio's C++ team improved the build and link times for Visual Studio 2019, which resulted in link times that are 18.15 times faster than in Visual Studio 2017. As a result, game developers of popular titles like Forza Horizon 4 can spend more time coding and improving games and less time compiling things.

The improvements and explanations of these changes are rather technical, especially for non-developers such as myself, but the end result is that game developers get to spend more time doing what they do best, developing games. The improvements to Visual Studio 2019 and how they affect game development are outlined in a new blog post from David Li, Microsoft Visual Studio C++ program manager.

Andrew Sage from Playground Games explains:

As a result of these changes, the developers can compile files much quicker. The blog explains (emphasis from Li):

The impressive improvements that the move to Visual Studio 2019 brings result in very concrete changes. Sage from PlayGround Games explains (emphasis added):

This blog post from Li is the second post on this topic. You can also read Li's work on how the Coalition saw a 27.9 times iteration build improvement thanks to Visual Studio 2019.

Xbox Series X/S

Main

• Xbox Series X: Everything we know
• Best games coming to Xbox Series X/S
• List of Xbox Series X specs
• What is the Xbox Series X release date?
• How much does Xbox Series X cost?
• Why you can't preorder Xbox Series X yet
• Best Xbox Series X Headsets

One of the most popular DLC packs for Forza in recent years was the Hot Wheels expansion for Forza Horizon 3, so it shouldn't come as too big of a surprise that Microsoft seems to be, once again, teaming up with the toy car manufacturer.

Uncovered today on Twitter by AR12 Gaming, the six-car pack features a 2Jetz 2018 Hot Wheels, a Chevrolet LUV 1972 Hot Wheels, an International-Harvester 1969 Hot Wheels, a 1957 Nash Metropolitan Hot Wheels, an AM Roadster 1957 Hot Wheels, and a Ford F-5 Dually Custom 1949 Hot Wheels. All of these cars will expand the growing lineup of cars available in the full Forza Horizon 4 car list, which is already fairly sizeable.

Although it's always worth taking unofficial sources and rumors with a grain of salt, this particular DLC has been known to us as a possibility for some time. However, we were unsure whether or not it was going to be a full expansion as seen with Forza Horizon 3. Still, this car pack doesn't completely rule out the possibility of another full Hot Wheels expansion for Forza Horizon 4 down the line. We'll have to wait and see.

At least for now, it looks like we'll get this car pack sooner rather than later, given the fact that it seems to be already live for some users.

Xbox Series X/S

Main

• Xbox Series X: Everything we know
• Best games coming to Xbox Series X/S
• List of Xbox Series X specs
• What is the Xbox Series X release date?
• How much does Xbox Series X cost?
• Why you can't preorder Xbox Series X yet
• Best Xbox Series X Headsets

What you need to know

• Microsoft announced a crossover vehicle for Forza Horizon 4 with Cyberpunk 2077 at The Game Awards.
• The main character's ride, the Quadra Turbo-R V-Tech will be added on December 11 for free.
• Ties in with the eagerly anticipated launch of CDPR's epic RPG.

Having broken out a little earlier this week the story of Microsoft's crossover with Cyberpunk 2077 is now official following a reveal at The Game Awards.

Available from December 11 for free to all players, the Quadra Turbo-R V-Tech arguably looks better in Forza Horizon 4 than it does in Cyberpunk 2077. That's not entirely surprising though since when it comes to vehicles, the Forza team is unmatched.

To get the new car, as per the official Forza Horizon twitter account, you can now load into the game and complete the NIGHTCITY.EXE head-to-head event. That's all there is to it, and it's available to all players for free this way. So what are you waiting for?

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What you need to know

• All signs point to a crossover between Forza Horizon 4 and Cyberpunk 2077
• Playground Games has all but confirmed it on social media.
• The Quadra V-Tech car from Cyberpunk 2077 has already been spotted driving around.

Forza Horizon 4 has already seen some big crossover collaborations, initially with the dedicated Halo showcase event and the return of the Warthog, then with the Lego Speed Champions DLC. Now it looks like a tie up with the hottest game of 2020 (and possibly ever), Cyberpunk 2077 is on the cards.

Spotted by community members (via The Nobeds), the "Quadra V-Tech" from Cyberpunk 2077 can be found in the search settings when filtering by car model. This being the vehlcle of V, the main protagonist in Cyberpunk 2077, it's unlikely to be by accident.

Furthermore, Playground Games has essentially confirmed it on Twitter without actually confirming it.

A reply to the tweet has also told players to tune in to The Game Awards, so it'd be a pretty solid bet that this will be one of Microsoft's announcements.

Further furthermore, some eagle-eyed players have already seen the car driving around the Edinburgh region as one of the NPC vehicles. Whether it's just the car or there's more to it, we'll have to wait and see.

But we won't be waiting long since The Game Awards happen tomorrow from 3.30 p.m. Pacific. And what better day to announce than on the long-awaited release day of Cyberpunk 2077.

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It's been a little while since we had anything substantial added to Forza Horizon 4 but Playground Games certainly hasn't given up on the title. Besides the launch of a free Xbox Series X upgrade (so long as you can find a console) that adds 4K60 among other improvements, this week they're debuting an all-new game mode called Super7.

The mode itself is a lot of fun, but it's the Blueprint Builder that comes along with it that really makes this something special. It's like a little dose of Trackmania has come to Forza Horizon 4 and that is absolutely OK with me.

The Horizon Super7

Super7 is an evolution of the community designed race idea previously introduced with the course builder. Much is very familiar, in that there are two sides to it.

You can either create challenges of your own or you can take on either individual challenges designed by community members or the Horizon Super7 where, you guessed it, seven challenges will be given to you to complete for some in-game rewards. Some of those rewards will include exclusive cars, like the 1924 Austin Seven.

How easy or difficult each challenge card is will depend on how evil the person who designed it is. But fear not, you're not locked into one set of seven challenge cards, if you don't like the look of one or you just simply cannot beat what's before you, then just burn the card and get a new one. It's as challenging as you want it to be, but ultimately it's more about fun than getting irritated.

Naturally, the early access I've had has only had a small number of creations, but once it's open to the wider player base it'll no doubt start boasting some absolutely epic challenges.

I've had a good mix of what's on offer in my time playing Super7 and one of the things I like the most is that you can literally be driving any car anywhere on the map. You don't have to own any of the vehicles yourself, and it appears that you're also going to be driving with other people's tunes on, which could really make for some mad times.

And when I say anywhere on the map, I really mean anywhere on the map...

The Blueprint Builder

The biggest change to the blueprint system in Forza Horizon history is coming as part of the Super7 update. The most recent addition was a full-featured route creator, allowing players to truly create their own races, but this goes one step further. You'll now be able to race pretty much anywhere on the map. That includes areas previously inaccessible such as across lakes, too.

How? By adding custom furniture like ramps and raised tracks, just like you'd find in a game like Trackmania. Or even if you played the Hot Wheels expansion in Forza Horizon 3, you'll have some idea.

It's not limited to this, either. There are all kinds of things you can put out into your circuit to block certain roads, direct traffic a certain way, even build an entirely enclosed circuit. You can even add dinosaurs. Because why wouldn't you? Jumps, stunts, and dinosaurs are a sure fire recipe for success.

More importantly, though it finally feels like Forza Horizon's blueprint system has made it. Become what we always hoped it would be, offering near-total creative freedom. There's also stuff yet to come we don't know about, like the "high stakes" mode which presumably will involve better rewards and potentially even tougher challenges. But who knows.

Super7 will be a free update added to Forza Horizon 4 and you can expect to find out more in the coming days.

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What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 will be updated to take advantage of the Xbox Series X.
• The optimized version will be available at the launch of the new console.
• Promises 4K resolution at 60 FPS, faster load times and higher visual fidelity.

Microsoft may have finally revealed a brand new Forza Motorsport game for Xbox Series X but that doesn't mean the Horizon crowd is totally without news.

Dropping just after the Xbox Games Showcase, Playground Games has confirmed that Forza Horizon 4 will be upgraded for Xbox Series X.

The current version of Forza Horizon 4 already plays at 4K and 60 FPS on the Xbox One X, but not together. The higher frame rate requires a drop to 1080p, while the higher resolution commands a 30 FPS frame rate.

Personally speaking, the quick game resume and faster load times are a much bigger deal and something I'm really looking forward to. About the only long-term criticism I have of Forza Horizon 4 is the hours lost over the past couple of years to loading screens.

And since it's hardly a bad looking game as it stands, any upgrades to visual fidelity will surely be worthy of some serious drooling. And better yet, current owners will get the upgraded version free of charge, and it'll still be available to play for all on Xbox Game Pass.

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What you need to know

• Microsoft has issued a statement outlawing the use of the Confederate flag in all Forza games.
• Use will be categorized as "notorious iconography" and will result in a ban.
• In the real world, NASCAR recently outlawed the flag at its events in a continued effort to create a more welcoming atmosphere to all.

With the current situations globally surrounding social injustice, major brands have all begun to take steps towards a better, more inclusive environment for all. Microsoft is one of those brands, with a recent period of media blackout just one way the company tried to highlight stories more important than their own.

And now, Microsoft is outlawing the Confederate flag from all Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon games. The news was issued in a statement via the Forza Support Twitter channel.

Use of the flag will result in an instant ban in any circumstances, which includes any replica paint jobs of the infamous General Lee. It's a small step but one Microsoft clearly hopes will keep the Forza universe a welcoming one for all players. This comes soon after NASCAR, in the real world, also outlawed the Confederate flag at all of its events for similar reasons.

The move is part of a wider mission statement on providing a safe and inclusive environment for all Forza players with a zero tolerance approach to rule breaking. You can check it out in full over on the Forza support forum.

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What you need to know

• Delayed Series 23 update will go live this week in Forza Horizon 4.
• A number of fixes are included in the patch notes along with a new showcase remix and new achievements.
• A popular YouTuber has figured out what new cars we might be seeing.

Forza Horizon 4 fans have endured a rough couple of weeks with the Series 23 update being pulled due to technical issues. This was further enhanced by all Microsoft channels shutting down communications due to recent events in the United States, but we did get a heads up that it would be released this week.

The official patch notes have now been posted detailing a number of fixes, a new 200G worth of achievements and a showcase remix to tackle, Morning Rush.

The achievements are related to Microsoft's current giving campaign, and there are a selection of fixes to small issues within the game, including car specific problems with the McLaren 720s Spider and Toyota Supra 2.0 GT.

You'd also expect some new cars within a new series and while there haven't been any official announcements, popular Forza YouTuber, Don Joewon Song, reckons he's figured it out from the most recent cryptic clues on Torben Tuesday.

The new build should be pushing out soon and the Series 23 changes should kick in from the regular seasonal switchover on Thursday.

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What you need to know

• Series 23 should finally be here on June 18.
• The two week delay is due to issues found in the build.
• This week's Autumn season will be another backup.

The long saga of the missing Forza Horizon 4 Series 23 update appears to be drawing to a close. The official Forza Support Twitter account has confirmed that the issue that prevented the build being released last week as planned has been fixed.

Of course next week still leaves one more seasonal change, due to happen on June 11, and as with this week it will revert to backup content of the Autumn season.

Fingers crossed the update deploys now as planned, but there are still many questions the community has. Not least wondering exactly what we're getting in Series 23. The Forza Monthly planned for June 1 was cancelled in light of current events in the United States and that's where the new batch of content would have been previewed.

There are no patch notes yet so there's still no hint as to what we're getting, but there's also now the question of where this fits into the overall picture. Will Series 23 only be two weeks long or will we enter a new four weekly cycle beginning at winter? For now, we'll have to keep waiting and wondering.

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What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 Series 23 update was expected to push out on June 2.
• Issues identified in the build have officially delayed it.
• We still don't actually know what's in it or when it will arrive.

Update: The Forza Support Twitter account has now provided an update and confirmed that Series 23 will not be going live on June 4 as originally planned.

Instead of moving into the new content the game will revert back to a "backup version" of the Summer season. There still remains no communication on what new content to expect in line with Microsoft's current iniative.

Original story: Forza Horizon 4 is due an update this week to Series 23, and the reveal was originally slated for June 1 on the Forza Monthly stream. As part of a company wide initiative at Microsoft that stream was cancelled and all media activity along with it, but the actual update itself is still planned as normal.

The Forza Support account on Twitter has confirmed that it's still planned but it is delayed, since players would have expected it to have been released by now:

That's all she wrote for now. The support forums still have no patch notes so we don't have any idea what's actually coming in the update, but it looks like it's still coming, at least.

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What you need to know

• The June 1 edition of Forza Monthly will not go ahead as planned.
• Series 23 for Forza Horizon 4 is due this week and was set to be a focus of the stream.
• There has been no word on whether the stream has been rescheduled or whether the update has also been delayed.

The Forza Horizon 4 community is expecting the Series 23 update this week and today was supposed to be the reveal on the June 1 edition of Forza Monthly. Unfortunately, the stream and all "regular programming" has been postponed as part of a company wide initiative at Microsoft in response to recent events.

At this time there is no further information on how long the postponement will be, nor whether the update itself has been delayed too. We'll update on that front as and when we learn more.

There's a lot of information hitting your eyeballs when you're playing a racing game like Forza Horizon 4, Forza Motorsport 7, or Project Cars 2. The on-screen HUD is useful, but it can be hard to properly absorb when you're focusing on driving hard, especially if you're using a racing wheel.

That's where you can improvise and build an external dashboard display. And no, it isn't some kind of expensive or highly technical exercise. In fact, you can do it with any Windows tablet or laptop. A tablet is probably easier to use, though, in this situation!

All you need is your Windows 10 device and a free app from the Microsoft Store called RealDash.

RealDash also works on real cars with the right hardware to connect to, but in this case, we're only interested in the virtual ones. It's free to download and use, though there are premium in-app purchases for different dashboard designs. Or you can stick with the included ones.

Once you've installed it on your machine, you just need to connect it to Forza Horizon 4.

How to connect RealDash to Forza Horizon 4

1. In RealDash, click on garage.
2. Click on the door handle of the car you see.

3. Now click on the car's dashboard.
4. Under connections, click add.

5. Scroll down the source list to the very bottom and select racing simulator.

6. Choose the game, in this case, Forza Horizon 4.
7. Take note of the IP address and the adapter port you're shown.

8. Boot up Forza Horizon 4.
9. Go into settings.
10. Select HUD and gameplay.

11. Scroll right to the bottom of the list.
12. Change data out to on.
13. Enter the IP address from RealDash under the data out IP address option.

14. Enter the adapter port under the data out IP port option.
15. Make sure you've clicked done in RealDash.

You'll now see Forza Horizon 4 listed under connections when you select the car's dashboard. Whenever you have RealDash open, it will try and connect to the port you enabled in the game to receive its telemetry. One limitation I've found is that with more than one game in your connections list, it will try to connect to the others while you're playing with an annoying on-screen message. But it's not a big deal to re-enter games and match up the ports.

There are limitations, mostly game dependent. For example, Forza Horizon 4 will output data for tire temperatures, but not brake temperatures, and also in this game, it'll tell you what lap you're on but not how many total laps there are.

The good thing is that you can customize your dash, so if there are gauges that don't work in your chosen game, you can just remove them. Likewise, if you just don't want some of the data you're being shown.

The setup process is very similar for Forza Motorsport 7, and RealDash also supports several other games, including Assetto Corsa, Euro Truck Simulator 2, and F1 2019.

This works well on any Windows 10 device, but the real beauty is when you have a small tablet — something like an old Dell Venue 8 Pro — and a way of mounting it by your wheel. Or if you have multiple monitors, maybe running RealDash on one of those while you race on another. There's also a version of the app for Android too, if you're interested but don't have a Windows tablet to spare.

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Microsoft's latest entry in the Forza Horizon series takes the fanatical festival to the roads of Britain. Like its predecessors, Forza Horizon 4 features a dense open world, packed with motoring events and vehicles to uncover. The mysterious "Barn Finds" also return, providing the chance to secure long-forgotten treasures scattered throughout the countryside.

Forza Horizon 4 features 16 barn finds in total. Some barn finds are harder to locate than before, while new seasonal barns rotate weekly alongside the game world. We've broken down every Forza Horizon 4 barn find, and how to locate it yourself.

1983 Audi Sport Quattro

The 1983 Audi Sport Quattro is an icon of German engineering, best performing in road and rally. This gem can be found just south-east of the slate quarry, in a small forest beside the Derwent Reservoir.

1986 Ford Escort RS Turbo

This aged RS Turbo can be found high in the sky, west of the Glen Rannoch signage on the world map. Ascend among the highlands and head to the indicated location, which leads to a 1986 Ford Escort RS Turbo and a breathtaking view.

1993 Jaguar XJ220

One of our list's first true British classics is the 1993 Jaguar XJ220, offering a modern take on the timeless luxury of Jaguar design. Head down a small private road just east of Ambleside to find this vehicle's resting place.

1961 Jaguar E-Type S1

Heading south-east of Tarn Hows, players will stumble upon the 1961 Jaguar E-Type S1. This locale can be found nearby a small body of water, hidden among the depths of the trees.

1997 Lotus Elise GT1

Exploring the south-west forest surrounding the slate quarry will uncover the not-so-long-lost 1997 Lotus Elise GT1. Venturing only slightly away from the pit ledge will uncover this admired touring car, among the best of the barn find vehicles.

1966 MG MGB GT

Another British classic, the 1966 MG MGB GT, can be found deep in the fields of Astmoor. After driving to the designated location, follow the line of trees bordering the field to find the barn.

1965 Mini Cooper S

The 1965 Mini Cooper S can be found south-west of Derwent Water. Just off the waterside, the barn is among a small area of trees.

1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STI

This formidable rally car is found along the southern side of Lakehurst Forest, among dense foliage. You'll find a small opening containing the bar, unlocking the 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STI.

1962 Triumph Spitfire

The 1962 Triumph Spitfire can be hard to find unless you know where to look. Head to the east side of the Express railyard, looking for a group of trees surrounding the barn.

1998 TVR Cerbera Speed 12

The Greendale Airstrip stows the 1998 TVR Cerbera Speed 12, located just east of the runway. Visiting the indicated location, find the barn running against a line of trees.

1931 Bentley Blower

The 1930 Bentley Blower is the hardest barn find to obtain in Forza Horizon 4, requiring some hefty playtime. This vehicle is a property exclusive, locked behind the purchase of "Bamburgh Castle" on the east coast. Priced at 10,000,000 CR, it requires some heavy investments to unlock the barn. However, once acquired, the barn is just a few meters down the coastline.

Summer Season Exclusive - 1962 Peel P50

Forza Horizon 4's dynamic seasons are a key draw of the new entry, meaning an ever-changing landscape every week. Summer-exclusive cars like the 1962 Peel P50 will return every four weeks on Friday. Once summer returns, head to the forest between Ashbrook and Uffington White Horse to uncover this tiny vehicle.

Autumn Season Exclusive - 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato

Like other season-exclusive cars, the 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato is only available in the autumn season. Just a short drive south of the Horizon Festival Site, this is an easy find once the season turns.

Winter Season Exclusive - 1973 Land Rover Range Rover

Unlocked when the snow hits the ground, the winter barn find is pretty easy to find. Head to the island in the middle of the now frozen Derwent Water and you'll find a lovely old Range Rover waiting for you.

Spring Season Exclusive - 1964 Ford GT40 MK1

Nestled at the edge of the wooded area right by the "Moorhead Wind Farm" text on the map you'll find the Ford GT40 MK1. Probably the finest of all the barn finds and only available in the spring.

Lego Speed Champions DLC - 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 Lego Speed Champions edition

In the Lego Speed Champions DLC there's one more, extra special barn find to acquire. In the style of the DLC, this Porsche 911from 1974 is actually a Lego Speed Champions car. When it pops it's easy to find, simply head towards the northern part of the map and you'll locate it in the large group of trees south of the Falcon Speedway and to the left of the desert area.

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Forza Horizon 4 is one of Microsoft's most successful games in recent years, with millions of players around the world across both Xbox One and PC, as well as through the increasingly popular Xbox Game Pass program. It's fair to say a ton of people love this game. I'm one of them.

But you can never please all of the people all of the time, and this past weekend brought the controversy. And brought it hard. A bunch of players got, admittedly, quite a lot of free stuff. A lot of players did not. And a number of those players are angry. In some cases, way more angry than a video game should make anyone.

What actually happened

Early on in the weekend, during the middle of the night U.S. time, somebody inside Playground Games pushed out 200 free Super Wheelspins to every player who could log in to the game and check their messages. Since I'm in the UK, the same time zone as Playground, I was one of those fortunate enough to catch it and spent about half an hour rolling through while writing a post about the good news.

At first many assumed it was a glitch or an error, but a tweet from the Forza Horizon Twitter account suggested it wasn't. It actively told players to go and check their messages.

All's good. A ton of free stuff for everyone!

And then it stopped, sometime during the morning in the U.S. as what certainly didn't seem to be a mistake, actually turned out to be one.

Did someone go rogue? Misunderstand what should have happened? Maybe 200 should have been 20? Whatever it was, it stopped, and it created a PR issue for the team within the community.

Those who got the stuff were lucky and there's no suggestion that anything they've redeemed will be taken away. Some of those who didn't manage to redeem the Super Wheelspins took it in their stride, acknowledging that mistakes happen and they're not really losing anything. Then there are those, and I'll admit there's quite a few, who seem to be really p*ssed and are going to stop playing the game apparently.

Is it really worth getting angry about?

Here are a few of the (anonymized) comments that you can find if you scroll through social media and reddit from those who aren't too pleased with how this all happened:

Should those players be even a little upset? Sure. It's human nature. If you see someone else getting something for free that you can't get yourself you're going to be envious, and in this case, rightly so. Is it worth yelling at the developers about on social media and uninstalling (or threatening to) the game? No.

For one, this is one of those times when "it's just a video game" needs to be understood. Especially in the current global crisis, getting as mad as some people seem to have been getting over this isn't healthy. This isn't ruining the game, it isn't going to make the auction house a mess (more than it already is) and yeah, while your buddies might now have a few million more credits and some extra sweet cars you don't have, is that really making your own enjoyment of the game any less?

Should Playground Games address this in some way, though? Absolutely. Even if I disagree with a number of the reactions, there's clearly unrest in the community and it's in their interest to at least try and rebuild that relationship. I'm not a developer, so I don't know the practicalities involved, but just saying "give everyone else 200" or "take back the stuff everyone got" isn't terribly likely.

For one, the latter is as unfair as those claiming they've been unfairly treated. It isn't the fault of any player who redeemed those spins based on what looked like official information from the studio. And with over 12 million players, how likely is it that they'll be able to (quickly) identify who claimed them and who didn't and push out the reward selectively to everyone else?

What should or will they do? I have no idea, and nothing short of 200 free Super Wheelspins will ever make the most vocal complainants happy. Nor do I even know if it's possible to selectively reward these players, but something has to be better than nothing and an unhappy portion of the community.

Keep playing if you enjoy the game

I claimed the 200 Super Wheelspins. Am I now suddenly a god tier player? No. I actually added about 12 new vehicles to my garage, most of which I'll never drive, and through the credit rewards and selling duplicates I made about 33 million credits to go on top of the 50 million credits I already had that I wasn't spending.

Forza Horizon 4 isn't the type of game where "the best cars" really exists. Thanks to tuning and the wide range of race types on offer, there is no "one size fits all" best car. And after more than 250 hours in the game, those 200 Super Wheelspins made a negligible difference to how I'll be playing from here on out. And I wager the same can be said of a lot of the longer term players.

If you're a new player, then yes, those 200 Super Wheelspins would have been really helpful and I do hope there's something that can be sent your way as some kind of apology. But free stuff is never what made this game fun to play. It's nearly two years old and I still have a great time every time I fire it up.

If you enjoy Forza Horizon 4, whether you got the free spins or not, then keep playing it. If this has soured you to the point you're going to uninstall and stop playing, I'd say you probably didn't enjoy playing it that much in the first place. This isn't the first game to have a polarizing issue, and it won't be the last. But whatever you're playing, try to enjoy it.

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What you need to know

• No this isn't a glitch.
• Yes there really are 200 of these things to claim.
• Playground Games either went mad in quarantine or are just being really, really nice.
• As it turns out, it was a "mistake", update below.

Update: So it definitely wasn't a glitch and someone sent a tweet out from the Forza Horizon Twitter account. But now the wheelspins are gone and nobody can claim them any more.

This "mistake" has a ton of people raging that they missed out, so if you cashed in, like I managed to, you got lucky, it seems.

Original post: If you don't have much going on this weekend and you're a Forza Horizon 4 player then you're in luck. It looks like we're all getting a whopping 200 Super Wheelspins for free. That's a lot of cars, credits and vanity items to earn.

It'll also take you an age to claim them all so get a beverage and get comfy.

We don't exactly know why they're giving these out. Maybe they're being really nice given the current global situation, maybe someone in the studio went completely mad. Maybe it's both. But some at first thought it might be a glitch, but it most definitely is not.

If you're low on credits or looking to tick off some of the last cars in your garage then this is a pretty solid chance to do both. I've claimed half mine as I write this and while I already have most of the cars, through selling them and the credit rewards I've already made 15 million credits.

To get the free wheelspins simply load up the game and head into your messages. There will be a new message from the Forza Horizon community team telling you that you've been gifted the Super Wheelspins. Hit the A button on the controller and start redeeming!

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What you need to know

• Series 22 update coming to Forza Horizon 4 this week.
• Six new cars will be available to earn over the series, including the Ford Racing Puma and Nissan Pulsar.
• New feature added to take quicker photos for Horizon Promo.

Another four-weekly cycle is upon us in the world of Forza Horizon 4 and the Series 22 update is here this week. Over the course of the next four weekly seasonal playlists, Horizon 4 players will have the opportunity to earn six new cars that are coming to the game. The full list includes some 80's and 90's rally flavor:

• 1999 Ford Racing Puma (Autumn season)
• 1990 Nissan Pulsar (Spring season)
• 1990 Toyota Celica 185 (Winter season)
• 1994 Toyota Celica ST205 (Summer season)
• 1991 Peugeot 205 Rallye (Summer season)
• 1988 Mitsubishi Starion

The new cars will be available through the festival playlists by either completing specific challenges in their respective seasons or by completing a percentage of the seasonal challenges so everyone who plays will have a solid chance at adding them to their garage.

Also coming to Forza Horizon 4 in Series 22 is a new feature for Horizon Promo that will make taking the photos much, much quicker. Currently, the standard photo mode processing applies which leaves you sitting in front of a loading screen for a decent length of time. Add that up across all of the cars in the game and suddenly you've spent a lot of hours in front of the game doing absolutely nothing.

Series 22 adds a new Promo Quickshot mode accessed by pressing the right bumper that foregoes the usual creative features of photo mode and just snaps a quick image to tick off another car on the Horizon Promo list.

Two showcase remixes will be available to play through during the course of Series 22 as well, with the Halo showcase remix, Pillar of Autumn making a return and adding a spot of rain to proceedings. In the other, Isha's Taxis will be taking on the Delta-Wing.

Additionally, there will be a handful of fixes and improvements. Here's what to expect per the full patch notes:

• Fixed an Issue with players being unable switch Star Card flairs
• Fixed an issue with Forzathon Points being displayed incorrectly in Russian
• Fixed an issue with Tool Tip options disappearing when browsing liveries in the Creative Hub
• Fixed an issue with the 2005 Honda NSX-R which caused parts of the hood to clip through the dashboard in cockpit view
• Fixed an issue with the 2007 Formula Drift #117 599 GTB Fiorano where wheel screws were not being painted correctly
• Various stability improvements

The update will be pushing out at some point on May 5 with the first seasonal change taking place as usual on Thursday. If you want to check out the update livestream for yourself it's available on-demand on the Forza Mixer Channel.

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What you need to know

• Series 20 update arriving to Forza Horizon 4
• New gameplay includes a new business story and accompanying achievements plus two showcase remixes.
• New accessibility menu adds easy access to important features for players.

The time is upon us for another of the regularly scheduled Forza Horizon 4 updates and as Series 20 rolls around there are new things to play new achievements to unlock and some incredibly important new features around accessibility.

Starting with the last of those first, there's a brand new accessibility menu accessed from the title screen or the settings menu in-game. Here's what's new:

Accessibility in gaming is a big deal and it's good to see Playground Games stepping up to the plate and making important features easy to use.

Gameplay wise, the usual seasonal resets will be taking place over the next four weeks with rewards galore, but there's also a brand new story to play through with a business to earn at the end of it.

The new story comes with new achievements, with eight in total covering this, Upgrade Heroes and the Lego Bugatti Chiron.

Otherwise of note are two new showcase remixes to play through, and a bunch of cross-platform fixes. You can check out the full patch notes over on the Forza Support forum.

Xbox

Main

• What is Xbox Game Pass?
• Best 4K TVs for Xbox Series X and S
• Must-buy Xbox One Headsets
• Our Favorite Xbox One Wireless Headsets
• Best Upcoming Xbox Games for 2021
• Xbox One X vs. Xbox Series S

What you need to know

• Forza holds a monthly livestream to talk about new seasonal events, updates, and more.
• This month, Forza is cancelling their live stream due to the recent coronavirus outbreak.
• The virus is now in Seattle, and Forza wanted to protect their planned guest stars.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is showing little intent to slow down, and companies far and wide are responding in kind by cancelling or postponing events. The Forza Monthly livestream is the latest to succumb, and will not be taking place this month. Forza cited concerns with the safety of guest stars that planned to appear on the show travelling to Seattle, where the coronavirus has been wreaking havoc. While live streams and online-only events have typically continued like normal, in this situation its understandable that Forza is wanting to approach this carefully.

The news comes after other Seattle-based companies like Microsoft have already made moves to protect their employees from the virus. Bungie, the developer of popular games like Destiny 2, has also done the same thing. It's clear that companies are taking zero risks when it comes to the safety of their employees, especially since two Microsoft employees were recently diagnosed with the coronavirus.

It's still too early to tell if next month's Forza Monthly stream will take place, but for now we'll just have to be a little more patient for our Forza news. Safety comes first.

What you need to know

• A new update is coming for Forza Horizon 4.
• This update adds the LEGO Speed Champions Bugatti Chiron for anyone who owns the Speed Champions expansion.
• It also adds several fixes and improvements.

Playground Games has detailed a new update for Forza Horizon 4. This update is adding the LEGO Speed Champions Bugatti Chiron. This new LEGO car is available for anyone who has purchased the LEGO Speed Champions expansion. To access this new car, simply complete the new event in the northeast.

There also some new cars coming for round 3 of The Eliminator:

• Level 2: 1959 Jaguar Mk II 3.8
• Level 2: 1966 Hillman Imp
• Level 3: 2010 Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor
• Level 3: 1996 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport
• Level 4: 2014 Volkswagen Golf R
• Level 6: 2012 Porsche Cayenne Turbo
• Level 7: 2015 Audi RS 6 Avant
• Level 7: 2014 Alfa Romeo 4C
• Level 8: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
• Level 9: 2016 BMW M4 GTS
• Level 9: 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
• Level 9: 2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV
• Level 10: 2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

In addition to everything above, this update is adding a remix of the Halo-themed event, where you have to guide a Warthog and escape the Covenant in the midst of an autumn shower. For an in-depth look at everything being added in the February 10 update, you can check out the newest episode of Forza Monthly below.

Xbox

Main

• What is Xbox Game Pass?
• Best 4K TVs for Xbox Series X and S
• Must-buy Xbox One Headsets
• Our Favorite Xbox One Wireless Headsets
• Best Upcoming Xbox Games for 2021
• Xbox One X vs. Xbox Series S

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 has a new update that fixes bugs in Eliminator mode.
• The update includes a balance change and many bug fixes.
• Eliminator is a new game mode that has you battle in a free for all.

Forza Horizon 4's new Eliminator game mode just rolled out this week, allowing drivers to combat each other in a battle royale. Playground Games shipped an update today for Forza Horizon 4 that fixes several bugs in Eliminator mode. The update also includes a balance change that delivers more damage to players outside the arena. The update is available for both PC and Xbox One.

A support page breaks down all of the changes.

Eliminator Balance Changes

• Significantly increased the damage to the players outside the Arena when it has shrunk to its final size.

Eliminator Fixes

• Fixed an issue where players were unable to challenge other players to a Head-to-Head
• Added the ability to reset your car position if stuck in a way which does not trigger the automatic reset
• If you find yourself stuck, hold accelerate, and you will be prompted to reset your car position
• Fixed the issue with some Head-to-Head races having their finish line appear outside of the Arena
• Fixed an issue with the post-race upgrade UI, where the D-pad icon was not appearing as intended
• Fixed an issue where if one player was eliminated by the arena whilst in a Head-to-Head, both players would be eliminated.
• Fixed an intermittent crash

Eliminator faces 72 players against each other in a fight to the "death." You eliminate players from the arena, which shrinks as the game progresses. We took a closer look at Eliminator mode recently to explain the mayhem.

Playground Games delivered a little holiday treat for Forza Horizon 4 fans in the form of the Series 17 update and with it a brand new game mode that wasn't exactly expected but adds something new to the mix.

The Eliminator is essentially Forza Horizon's take on a battle royale, with 72 players entering the arena and only one emerging victorious. It's hardly 'combat,' but your objective is to either avoid your opponents or simply take them out of the game.

It's a very different take on multiplayer in Forza Horizon 4, and if you've been away for a while, it's undoubtedly worth jumping back in to check it out. I have one main concern, but for the most part, it's a lot of fun to play.

Battle royale like no other

The general principles of traditional battle royale games are found within The Elimination. You get to choose where you start, there are loot drops (in this case, better cars) strewn across the map, and there's an ever-shrinking circle that you have to stay inside. And like traditional battle royale games, your opponents can 'kill' you, and you're out of the game.

The formula is familiar, as in some ways are the tactics you'll need to deploy to be successful. If you're stuck in the lowly Mini Cooper, you'll be wanting to avoid getting challenged by someone in a Porsche, for example. The PUBG equivalent would be trying to take out an opponent with a level 3 helmet and an M416 with just a crossbow.

So, just like every battle royale game, there are tactics involved. You need to keep your eyes peeled for car drops to keep improving your ride if you're going to be able to win challenges.

That's the other tactical side to Eliminator. You can either try your best to hide to avoid confrontation (a good tactic if you're in a slow car), or you can challenge other drivers to races within the arena. The winner stays in, and the loser is out. And of course, you've got to keep inside the giant, ever-shrinking circle while you're at it.

In essence, Eliminator combines a battle royale with a free-roam rush, with each point-to-point race vital to secure the W by any means necessary. But with 71 opponents, there's no shortage of potential challenges, all with the same goal of reaching the final batch of cars and emerging as the winner.

Matchmaking will make or break it

So here's my main concern with The Eliminator: Matchmaking. Getting into multiplayer games in Forza Horizon 4 can still take quite a wait, and that's with much-reduced numbers. And even with the early surge of players jumping into the new mode, I've still been waiting what feels like long enough to get bored and quit out.

Playground Games obviously has access to data that we do not. Still, the multiplayer experience as a whole has been my least favorite part of Forza Horizon 4 ever since it launched. Much work has been done since the early days, and it is better now, but here we're talking about getting 72 players into the same game. Or rather, if it can fill up with 72 players; the last game I played had just over 50.

And, in the long term, that worries me a little. Hopefully, it's all going to be okay, but one easy way for folks to get bored is to leave them sat waiting in lobbies and not getting games, or dropping into a game that's only half populated.

Good time to come back to Forza Horizon 4

The Eliminator is a solid addition to Forza Horizon 4, and if it's been a minute since you've played, then it's worth coming back for. It has its own progression system and achievements, and by just completing one round, even if you don't do that well, you'll be rewarded with the legendary Toyota Supra.

Achievement hunters will find plenty of reason to play The Eliminator as well, with some relatively easy to tick off, others will be much more of a challenge. In any case, if getting Gamerscore is your jam, there's plenty to do.

It's also positive to see fresh content still rolling along every month. The first year of Forza Horizon 4 was pretty big, with monthly updates joined by two big DLC packs. In lieu of there being no further expansions confirmed, players will be looking to new modes like The Eliminator throughout year two, just so long as the player count stays up.

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 is an open-world racing game from Microsoft.
• It's getting a new battle royale mode on December 12.
• Up to 72 players face of against each other in head-to-head races.
• Forza Horizon 4 is part of Xbox Game Pass.

Updated December 12, 2019: The mode is available now. It's a small download so it shouldn't take you too much time to get racing.

Forza Horizon 4 is an open-world racing game where you can explore Scotland and surrounding areas. It's absolutely stunning and even offers a 1080p 60 frames per second (FPS) mode on Xbox One X. Of course, you can always play it at native 4K and 30 FPS if you choose.

Out of nowhere, developer Playground Games just announced that the game is getting a free battle royale mode on December 12, tomorrow. The press release we received said the following.

This is definitely a new take on the racing genre and we can't wait to see how it's received by gamers. Are you going to try it out? Let us know. Even though Playground is working on a new role-playing game, possibly Fable IV, it's great to see that Forza Horizon 4 is being supported this well after launch. Hopefully, this isn't the last of the new content.

Xbox

Main

• What is Xbox Game Pass?
• Best 4K TVs for Xbox Series X and S
• Must-buy Xbox One Headsets
• Our Favorite Xbox One Wireless Headsets
• Best Upcoming Xbox Games for 2021
• Xbox One X vs. Xbox Series S

What you need to know

• Series 15 was originally slated to release today.
• Technical issue pushes it back 24 hours.
• Update delivers a new Horizon Story among other content.

The regular monthly update to Forza Horizon 4 — in this case Series 15 — has been pushed back from its intended release thanks to a last minute technical issue. But fear not, it's only delayed by a day.

Series 15 is bringing a bunch of new content to play through to the Horizon Festival, including the new Upgrade Heroes Horizon Story, a new Showcase Remix and some new vehicles from the likes of Koenigsegg and Bugatti. All regularly scheduled season change related content will still switch over as planned on Thursday, October 24.

If you missed the livestream announcing Series 15 along with a full rundown of what you can expect, you can replay it right now on the Forza Mixer channel.

What you need to know

• Two new Xbox One bundles are now available, both of which include Forza Horizon 4 and the LEGO Speed Champions Expansion.
• The Xbox One X bundle is $499 USD, while the Xbox One S bundle is $300 USD.
• Both bundles are currently available only through the Microsoft Store but may reach other retailers soon.

Two new Xbox One bundles are now available, focused on the LEGO Speed Champions expansion for Forza Horizon 4. Both bundles include a 1TB internal hard drive, Forza Horizon 4 and its expansion, LEGO Speed Champions. Both bundles also include a month of Xbox Live Gold and a month of Xbox Game Pass.

The main difference is computing power and price, as Xbox One X can display games in 4K and sometimes at higher framerates than its S denoted sibling. Naturally, all that extra power comes with a heftier price tag: the Xbox One S bundle is available for $300, while the Xbox One X bundle is $500.

Playground Games has provided a ton of support for the game so far, from free updates to paid DLC and expansions. A recent message on Twitter celebrates everything released so far and hints at more content to come:

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4 is a racing game from Playground Games.
• The title is part of Xbox Game Pass like every modern Microsoft Exclusive.
• The game recently passed 12 million players.
• You can purchase Xbox Game Pass through Amazon.

A few weeks ago, we reported that Forza Horizon 4 had been played by over 10 million gamers. Well, it looks like the figure has skyrocketed since June. According to a report by FullThrottle Media, now the number stands at over 12 million. The game is available through Xbox Game Pass, so that's probably where new users are coming from.

The outlet said the following. What's surprising is that even after all this time, over 4 million gamers play the game each month.

Usually, racing games aren't that popular. However, through Xbox Game Pass, even those who may have hesitated on spending $60 for Forza Horizon 4 have the ability to test it out. The game is a lot of fun and has wide appeal, but only by playing it can you discover that.

Excellent and affordable Xbox accessories

Up your Xbox experience with one (or all) of these budget accessories, all of which are approved by the gamers of Windows Central.

PowerA Play & Charge Kit for Xbox One ($15 at Amazon)

This charging kit keeps your Xbox One wireless controllers juiced up, and it offers batteries for two controllers. At just $15, this is hands-down our favorite budget charging companion.

ElecGear 4 Port USB Xbox One S Hub ($19 at Amazon)

This brilliant little USB splitter hub attaches perfectly to the side of your Xbox One S console. It's ideal for use with chargers, controllers, headsets, and more.

Controller Gear stand ($13 at Amazon)

Proudly display your Xbox gamepads with this stylish and functional stand. The licensed design is minimalist and black, and it has a hidden storage compartment, making the price of $13 a real steal.

What you need to know

• The latest monthly update sees a tie-in with BBC's Top Gear.
• Presenter Chris Harris lends his voice to the game.
• Track-Tor from the show making an appearance along with a new Horizon Story.

It's been a busy time in Forza Horizon 4 land in recent weeks, but the regular updates continue to roll and it's time for another one. This week sees Series 11 drop and with it some exciting new bits, particularly for fans of BBC's Top Gear.

While players are still enjoying themselves in Lego Valley, Series 11 brings some more traditional four-wheeled entertainment through a partnership with Top Gear. It not only sees the insane Track-Tor from the show added to the game, but presenter, Chris Harris, lends his voice and there's an all-new Horizon Story to play through.

You'll also be able to dress up your in-game character as The Stig. Because who wouldn't want that?

Away from Top Gear, Series 11 is adding a new four weekly cycle of seasonal challenges and a new Festival Playlist, with rewards including a trio of Forza Edition cars, a couple of Koenigseggs and a host of other vehicles.

Rivals is getting some much-requested attention in Series 11, too, with the new Class Rivals feature allowing players to drive any vehicle in a class in pursuit of the ultimate time. The currently curated Rivals challenges will remain, Class Rivals merely expands the concept a little more.

The Horizon Timeline is getting a bit of a spruce up, too, with more easily available information on your progression through the various categories and the future rewards, and the new Star Card feature will be getting some additional rewards for completion.

And as always there are a bunch of smaller fixes coming, and one multiplayer fans, in particular, will be pleased to see is a rebalance of the collision slow down penalty so that genuine mistakes and small taps aren't punished as harshly. Wall riding is, still, thankfully getting absolutely smacked down.

To check out the full rundown for Series 11, check out the Playground Games live stream below.

Xbox accessories you'll love

Every one of these quality accessories is guaranteed to enhance your Xbox experience.

PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox One ($20 at Amazon)

PowerA's take on the Xbox One controller is an attractive pickup for budget-conscious gamers that nails all the basics.

Talon PDP Xbox media remote ($20 at Amazon)

The Talon PDP Xbox media remote is great for watching shows on your console.

Xbox One S vertical stand ($10 at Amazon)

Stand your console upright with this accessory.

What you need to know

• The Forza Horizon 4: Lego Speed Champions expansion is available right now.
• It features a new world full of Lego challenges and blocky vehicles.
• Contrary to rumors, Lego cars and regular cars can race together
• You can purchase the expansion for $20 through the Microsoft Store.

At E3 2019, Microsoft announced that Forza Horizon 4 was getting a new expansion soon. So soon in fact that it would launch on June 13. While everyone expected it to be "Hot Wheels 2," the "Lego Speed Champions" reveal blew racing fans away. Instead of rehashing content, it's great to see that the team is working on bringing new experiences to racing fans on Xbox One and PC. Due to this, Lego Speed Champions may just be one of the best expansions ever made.

According to our very own Richard Devine, "Given the destructible nature of the Forza Horizon world already, the addition of Lego bricks is sure to make for an interesting experience." You can read his preview here which talks about an all-new valley filed with Lego brick structures, the "Falcon Speedway," and how far you can jump in the "Super Mega Awesome Adventure Stunt Park."

While the Lego Speed Champions expansion features varied Lego environments like a city, airport, space ship crash site, pirate cove, and more, there aren't that many cars which follow the aesthetic. Luckily, that's about to change very soon. Today, Lego announced that the 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 will be the latest vehicle to receive the Lego Speed Champions treatment. While a physical set will be available at a later date, the game will make its debut in Forza Horizon 4 this summer. The news was first reported by CarScoops. The outlet said the following about the iconic vehicle.

We'll keep you posted as soon as we know when the 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 will join Lego Speed Champions. Hopefully the wait won't be too long. You can purchase the expansion for $20 through the Microsoft Store, and the critically-acclaimed game is going for $42 on Amazon.

Excellent and affordable Xbox accessories

Up your Xbox experience with one (or all) of these budget accessories, all of which are approved by the gamers of Windows Central.

PowerA Play & Charge Kit for Xbox One ($15 at Amazon)

This charging kit keeps your Xbox One wireless controllers juiced up, and it offers batteries for two controllers. At just $15, this is hands-down our favorite budget charging companion.

ElecGear 4 Port USB Xbox One S Hub ($19 at Amazon)

This brilliant little USB splitter hub attaches perfectly to the side of your Xbox One S console. It's ideal for use with chargers, controllers, headsets, and more.

Controller Gear stand ($13 at Amazon)

Proudly display your Xbox gamepads with this stylish and functional stand. The licensed design is minimalist and black, and it has a hidden storage compartment, making the price of $13 a real steal.

Forza Horizon 4 has been looking strong lately. Not only does the weekly and monthly content update schedule continue to roll on, adding exciting new challenges and cars like the Rimac, but recently the title passed 10 million players. The community is thriving, and now finally, the second expansion pack to the main game has been announced. And nobody was expecting it to be based on Lego.

Following the same pattern as Forza Horizon 3, we got one 'serious' expansion, built in a similar vein to the base game, and one crazy world based around a popular toy brand. Last time out there was a giant Hot Wheels track, but with Lego Speed Champions, things are even more impressive. This is something you want to play.

Fun for all ages

So here's the deal. Kids love Lego, adults love Lego, everyone loves Lego. At first, it's a crossover that takes a bit of thinking about, after all, the Lego games we're used to playing don't involve racing around an open world against real cars on real roads.

But as soon as you jump in and play through the introduction sequence, it all makes sense. Lego Speed Champions is a happy place to be, and the first time you see it you'll be beaming from ear to ear.

It's also entirely probable that this expansion alone could introduce a whole new generation of Forza Horizon fans. My four-year-old loves Lego, and the first time I showed Speed Champions to him his eyes lit up and he was suddenly very excited to play.

It's actually a brilliant marketing move from both sides. What would be the icing on the cake would be a Forza Horizon 4 themed Lego set, perhaps our very own Brickchester to build ... one can only dream.

Lego cars or real cars, it doesn't matter

With every expansion comes a set of new, exclusive vehicles. Of course, you don't get normal vehicles here, instead, some of the Lego Speed Champions collection, led by the Forza Horizon 4 McLaren Senna.

The detail on the models is exquisite. During one of the E3 reveal streams, a member of the Lego team involved with the game expressed their delight at how much attention to detail the Playground Games designers had put in, and it really shows. Zoom in while you're in the ForzaVista mode and you'll see tiny markings on the lights, for example, just as you would on a piece of real Lego.

This attention to detail spreads into the Speed Champions world as well. The roads aren't paved with Lego, but the map was designed from scratch using a Lego design tool. As you zoom out the roads disappear and the blocks come to life in front of you.

Naturally, Lego never stays built forever, and as you drive around crashing through the environment it falls apart just as real Lego blocks would. Research for the developer included crashing real Lego cars to see how the bricks would fall off under impact. With a few exceptions, the majority of the Lego built objects throughout the map will break apart with that satisfying sound of a bundle of Lego bricks crashing together.

Of course, you're not limited to the Lego cars either. While they drive just the same as their real-world counterparts, any car is playable in any part of the game. Throughout Speed Champions, there are dedicated challenges that pit Lego cars against real counterparts.

A varied world to play in

The purpose of the single player experience in Lego Speed Champions is to become a master builder and create yourself a gigantic Lego mansion. To do so requires completing Brick Challenges, many of which involve reaching the finish line and winning the various races across the map.

Many others are special challenges, such as getting from point A to point B in a certain car in a certain time or hitting an allocated amount of Lego traffic cones in a set time period. We're not talking an expansion that will take you weeks to complete, but there's a lot of fresh content to get stuck into.

The variety of the world is exceptional as well. It adds for the first time to Forza Horizon 4 an actual race track, along with a desert, a UFO crash with alien artifacts to find, a brand new barn find (which you can't actually claim yet as the car isn't in the game at launch), a new Horizon Story, PR stunts and weekly seasonal changes as with the rest of the Horizon world.

The best part of Lego Speed Champions is just that it's enormous fun. Everyone I've spoken to who has played it so far has said exactly the same thing. Even Radio Awesome is fun for a while, until you can't close your eyes without hearing the only song it plays on repeat.

The bottom line

Forza Horizon 4 is one of my favorite Xbox One games to date, and the Lego Speed Champions expansion fits with it perfectly. If you're at all concerned it might not be for you or that it can't possibly be any good because it's "not Horizon" or it's "not realistic," get past that and dive in.

As with the Hot Wheels expansion to Forza Horizon 3, Lego Speed Champions offers a completely fresh take on the current game with a massive dose of pure, flat-out fun.

It's everything that's good about Forza Horizon 4, then added to Lego and mixed all together. Maybe it shouldn't work, but it really does.

It never takes itself seriously, it is a proper Horizon game and it's probably the best thing I've played this year. If you have the Ultimate Edition or the Ultimate Add-ons pack, it's included in your bundle, otherwise, it can be bought standalone or as part of the Expansions Bundle.

But you should definitely play it if you're at all into Horizon, Lego or both, and get the kids to join in. Everything is awesome.

What you need to know

• Forza Horizon 4: Lego Speed Champions is available right now.
• It features a new world full of Lego challenges.
• Lego cars and regular cars can race together.
• You can purchase the expansion for $20 through the Microsoft Store.

At E3 2019, Microsoft announced that Forza Horizon 4 was getting a new expansion soon. So soon in fact that it would launch on June 13. While everyone expected it to be Hot Wheels, the Lego Speed Champions reveal blew everyone away. It's great to see that the team is working on bringing new experiences to racing fans on Xbox One and PC instead of rehashed content.

According to our very own Richard Devine, "Given the destructible nature of the Forza Horizon world already, the addition of Lego bricks is sure to make for an interesting experience." You can read his preview here.

Are you excited to play the expansion? Let us know. You can access it either as part of the expansion pass or buy it separately for $20.

Xbox accessories you'll love

Every one of these quality accessories is guaranteed to enhance your Xbox experience.

PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox One ($20 at Amazon)

PowerA's take on the Xbox One controller is an attractive pickup for budget-conscious gamers that nails all the basics.

Talon PDP Xbox media remote ($20 at Amazon)

The Talon PDP Xbox media remote is great for watching shows on your console.

Xbox One S vertical stand ($10 at Amazon)

Stand your console upright with this accessory.

What you need to know

• Sea of Thieves is an open-world pirate game from Rare.
• Forza Horizon 4 is an open-world racing game from Playground Games.
• Sea of Thieves recently crossed 8.4 million players on Xbox One and PC.
• Forza Horizon 4 recently crossed the 10-million mark on the same systems.
• You can play both games through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Sea of Thieves is the latest game from developer Rare. The team has worked on titles like Banjo-Kazooie and Perfect Dark in the past, so a pirate simulator is quite a radical departure. While the title launched as a barebones experience, the team has since managed to turn it around by adding mechanics like fishing, cooking, and even a single-player campaign.

In April, the developer released the "Anniversary Update" for the game. Since then, the number of players has spiked. According to the team, the title now numbers over 8.4 million players. This information was revealed during an Inside Xbox show a few days ago. If you haven't played the game yet, be sure to jump in because it's quite good.

That's not all the news that was shared. Today, Forza Horizon 4's developer shared that the game now numbers 10 million players. This information was first spotted by Twitter user "@emiel1981" while watching a Forza Horizon 4 livestream on Mixer.

Forza Horizon 4 garnered stellar reviews at launch and has one of the highest scores on Metacritic. That contributes to the game's continued popularity. The racing simulator is also getting a Lego expansion soon, so that should draw even more players in.

It's great to see that Forza Horizon 4 and Sea of Thieves are doing so well. High player counts are important for the longevity of both games because they rely heavily on multiplayer. You can play both of them right now because they're part of Xbox Game Pass. There's a promotion going on right now that upgrades your existing membership to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for just $1. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate bundles Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for PC, and Xbox Live Gold into one package.

Xbox accessories you'll love

Every one of these quality accessories is guaranteed to enhance your Xbox experience.

PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox One ($20 at Amazon)

PowerA's take on the Xbox One controller is an attractive pickup for budget-conscious gamers that nails all the basics.

Talon PDP Xbox media remote ($20 at Amazon)

The Talon PDP Xbox media remote is great for watching shows on your console.

Xbox One S vertical stand ($10 at Amazon)

Stand your console upright with this accessory.

What you need to know

• Lego Speed Champions is the latest expansion to Forza Horizon 4.
• Launches on June 13, available to pre-load right now.
• Free update for Ultimate Edition owners.

The long-awaited second expansion to Forza Horizon 4, Lego Speed Champions, will be here in a matter of days on June 13. But if you're keen to jump in as soon as it goes live you'll be pleased to know that you can now pre-load it from the Store on both PC and Xbox One.

Lego Speed Champions is a lot different from the base game and the first expansion, Fortune Island, but the team looks to have done a truly incredible job at recreating all the little details of Lego.

The expansion pack will be packed with new challenges, races, lots of room for destruction and retains the weekly seasonal changes the rest of the game enjoys. It looks a lot of fun, and we're pretty excited to get going with it later this week.

It's available as a free update to owners of the Ultimate Edition or the Ultimate Add-Ons package, or can be purchased on its own for $19.99.

Excellent and affordable Xbox accessories

Up your Xbox experience with one (or all) of these budget accessories, all of which are approved by the gamers of Windows Central.

PowerA Play & Charge Kit for Xbox One ($15 at Amazon)

This charging kit keeps your Xbox One wireless controllers juiced up, and it offers batteries for two controllers. At just $15, this is hands-down our favorite budget charging companion.

ElecGear 4 Port USB Xbox One S Hub ($19 at Amazon)

This brilliant little USB splitter hub attaches perfectly to the side of your Xbox One S console. It's ideal for use with chargers, controllers, headsets, and more.

Controller Gear stand ($13 at Amazon)

Proudly display your Xbox gamepads with this stylish and functional stand. The licensed design is minimalist and black, and it has a hidden storage compartment, making the price of $13 a real steal.

What you need to know

• Lego Speed Champions will be available on June 13.
• New world full of Lego-specific challenges.
• New cars include a Lego McLaren Senna and Mini Cooper S.
• Lego cars and regular cars can race together.

The long-awaited second expansion pack for Forza Horizon 4 has finally been revealed for a June 13 launch. Lego Speed Champions is a very different prospect to the first expansion, Fortune Island, thanks in no small part to the licensed tie-up with Lego.

It's not the first time the Forza Horizon series has gone somewhere bizarre, the previous game had a Hot Wheels expansion with a world map that looked like a giant playset.

Here's what we know about it so far.

Everything is awesome

So, what can we expect from what's clearly a pretty sharp departure from the existing game? In some cases, business as usual. Despite the Lego-themed world, Speed Champions will experience the exact same weekly seasonal changes as both the base game and Fortune Island, with weekly challenges to go with them.

It's the world itself where the biggest changes will happen:

Given the destructible nature of the Forza Horizon world already, the addition of Lego bricks is sure to make for an interesting experience.

We're also going to have an entirely new set of challenges to play through specific to Lego. The Lego Brick Challenges reward exploration, and as you collect more you can apparently become a master builder and construct a house befitting of one.

There are also new destruction and speed ramp challenges included along the same vein as the current PR stunts. And who doesn't want to visit the Super Mega Awesome Adventure Stunt Park? Sounds wild.

All new, all Lego cars

What expansion would be complete without some new cars to go with it? Lego is no stranger to producing its own versions of famous cars for people to build, and in Speed Champions, we'll be able to drive some of them.

So far we've seen Lego versions of the main game's cover car, the McLaren Senna, the Ferrari F40 Competitizone and the 1967 Mini Cooper S Rally.

What's more is that these cars aren't siloed to the expansion, likewise the game's existing cars don't seem to be locked out of it. The first trailer shows both Lego cars and regular cars racing side by side. So next time you pull up at the drag strip you could well see a Lego McLaren pull up next to you.

Playground Games has also ensured that the Lego cars still feel like they belong in Horizon when you're driving along. Even though they're not real, the Lego cars drive as if they were, so the experience is consistent throughout.

Build a house and explore the world

In the base game you buy houses around the map, but in Lego Speed Champions you have to build one, of course. To build a house requires bricks, and earning bricks means completing the game's Brick Challenges.

The idea isn't foreign to a Forza Horizon 4 player and vary in difficulty and reward. Some are as easy to complete as just visiting set locations on the map, while others are time and objective based.

The more bricks you earn the bigger the house you can build, until the grand goal of becoming a Master Builder.

The map in Lego Speed Champions is also absolutely glorious. It was constructed from scratch using a Lego design tool, and the attention to detail on both it and the cars is insane. Playground Games captured not only the genuine look and feel of the cars and the world, but how Lego pieces fall apart when you crash.

There's also a new radio station in the game, Radio Awesome. And it plays "Everything is Awesome" on repeat, so there's that. Your kids might enjoy it more than you. And definitely more than the radio station DJs, who sound increasingly drained by the constant, never-ending repeat.

Available very soon, a free update for Ultimate Edition

Beyond the reveal, the biggest surprise was that it's available so soon. Lego Speed Champions will be arriving in Forza Horizon 4 on June 13, mere days after its announcement.

It'll cost $19.99 on its own, but will come as a free update to anyone with the Ultimate Edition of the game or the Ultimate Add-ons package. If you already paid for the Expansions Bundle, you too will get it for no additional charge.

If you want to jump in and play on launch day, it's available to pre-load right now.

Is the Forza Horizon 4 Expansions Bundle worth it?

Excellent and affordable Xbox accessories

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PowerA Play & Charge Kit for Xbox One ($15 at Amazon)

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ElecGear 4 Port USB Xbox One S Hub ($19 at Amazon)

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Two very different expansion packs

Forza Horizon 4 players are being treated to fresh content on a weekly basis as the seasons change and through regular Forzathon challenges, but the expansion packs offer something much more.

The first, Fortune Island, is already available and gives players an entirely new map to play through with additional races, stories, PR stunts, and achievements to enjoy. It includes the longest Driftzone in any Forza game to date and the terrain is quite different from the main map.

The second expansion has been revealed as Lego Speed Champions, a licensed tie-up between Microsoft and Lego that will see you race brick-based vehicles across a very colorful, very different style of map.

Ultimate Edition represents the best overall value

The Ultimate Edition of Forza Horizon 4 is pricey, but as it also includes the DLC expansions, which means it represents the best overall value. If you're not yet playing Forza Horizon 4, it's the one to get.

The Ultimate Edition includes the VIP Membership, Car Pass, and all currently released car packs. Buying all of this content separately will cost well in excess of the asking price of the Ultimate Edition.

If you're playing Forza Horizon 4 from Xbox Game Pass, or have an active Game Pass subscription, you can get yourself a 10% discount when buying the Ultimate Edition. If you're an owner of the standard edition, however, there is an upgrade path.

Ultimate Add-Ons is best for current standard edition owners

If you have the standard edition of the game, spending extra on the Ultimate Edition for all its extra content makes entirely no sense, but fortunately, Microsoft has an answer.

All of the additional content the Ultimate Edition provides can be bought separately in the Ultimate Add-Ons bundle for $50. It works out to be a little more than the cost of the Ultimate Edition in total, but it's still the best bet if you want the DLC expansions and you already own the game.

What you need to know

• The second expansion pack for Forza Horizon 4 has been revealed at E3 2019.
• Centered on a licensed tie-up with Lego.
• Launches on June 13.

Forza Horizon 4 fans have been waiting what feels like an eternity for the second expansion DLC to arrive, and at Microsoft's E3 press conference, the first details have finally been revealed. It's all about Lego Speed Champions.

Forza Horizon 3's second DLC was in partnership with Hot Wheels, and in a similar vein, the latest game has also gone for a wacky take on open world racing. It's a far cry from the first expansion, the rugged terrain of Fortune Island.

Owners of the Ultimate Edition or the Expansions bundle will get access to the Lego DLC upon release. When is that? Pretty soon; Lego Speed Champions is set to launch on Xbox One and PC on June 13.

Everything is indeed awesome!

Is the Forza Horizon 4 Expansions Bundle worth it?

Excellent and affordable Xbox accessories

Up your Xbox experience with one (or all) of these budget accessories, all of which are approved by the gamers of Windows Central.

PowerA Play & Charge Kit for Xbox One ($15 at Amazon)

This charging kit keeps your Xbox One wireless controllers juiced up, and it offers batteries for two controllers. At just $15, this is hands-down our favorite budget charging companion.

ElecGear 4 Port USB Xbox One S Hub ($19 at Amazon)

This brilliant little USB splitter hub attaches perfectly to the side of your Xbox One S console. It's ideal for use with chargers, controllers, headsets, and more.

Controller Gear stand ($13 at Amazon)

Proudly display your Xbox gamepads with this stylish and functional stand. The licensed design is minimalist and black, and it has a hidden storage compartment, making the price of $13 a real steal.

What you need to know

• Update 10 brings the insane electric hypercar, the Rimac C_Two to the roads of Britain.
• New Star Card rewards completionists with added flair.
• No mention still of the next DLC.

E3 2019 is on the horizon (no pun intended) but while we wait to hear about all the cool new stuff, updates to existing games keep on rolling. In the case of Forza Horizon 4, it's monthly update time, and with Update 10 there's not a huge pile coming our way, but there is some pretty neat things to talk about.

Here's what's what in Forza Horizon 4 Update 10.

Rimac C_Two

New updates mean a raft of new challenges and new challenges bring new reward cars. Headlining this month is the incredible Rimac C_Two, a 1,900 bhp electric hypercar.

Given the typical savage acceleration you get from electric cars, keep your peepers open for this one at the drag strip in particular. It's probably the car steaming off ahead of you.

It's not the only reward car being added in Update 10, either. There's also the 1970 AMC Rebel 'The Machine', 1969 Fiat Dino Coupé and the 2014 Maserati Ghibli.

New Star Card flair

The new Star Card is one for completionists, with rewards based on meeting certain targets from all areas of the game. They retroactively unlock, or they should at least, so if you already met the criteria, you'll be rewarded straight away.

The prize is some flair to add to your gamertag while inside Forza Horizon 4. There's a whole set to collect, covering every aspect of the game, including the creative and online portions. So to get everything you really are an incredibly well rounded Horizon player.

There do seem to be one or two bugs with the Star Card right now, though. It took a couple of attempts logging into the game for it to unlock any of my own progress at all, and even then some are definitely not working, notably the requirement to have driven all the roads in the game.

But bugs can be fixed and it's another nice touch for the more dedicated players, while adding a set of new targets for the newcomers and more casual racers.

 Custom adventure tweaks, but no Expansion 2

The relatively new Custom Adventure mode also gets some love in Update 10, with the type of collisions you want now a choice, likewise getting rid of Freeroam Rush.

Perhaps disappointingly, though, nothing has been said, still, of the next expansion. Fortune Island has been around for a while now, and even though it's included in the weekly seasonal updates with fresh challenges, there's a hunger in the community for what's next.

Initially, we were told to expect the second expansion pack in the first half of 2019. We're now in the final month of that first half, so unless the plans have changed, we should be hearing something soon. There's also the fact that Microsoft's big E3 press conference is just days away at this point, so it would be foolish to expect any news before then.

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Talon PDP Xbox media remote ($20 at Amazon)

The Talon PDP Xbox media remote is great for watching shows on your console.

Xbox One S vertical stand ($10 at Amazon)

Stand your console upright with this accessory.

Ever since launch, Forza Horizon 4 has seen regular content updates in the form of weekly seasonal challenges and larger monthly updates.

We're now round to Update 9 which is due to launch this week and it's got some really great stuff in it for players. Let's dig into what we're going to get.

New cars - Apollo IE and Mini

The most desirable new car being added to the game in Update 9 is the Apollo IE, a striking supercar that will be the reward for completing the Spring trial.

There will be lots for Mini fans too, with a whole bunch of Mini content coming in May to get your hands on through the Festival Playlist. The standout car is the Mini JCW buggy, a Dakar rally style vehicle better suited to the dunes at Bamburgh or a cross country slog than street racing.

You'll also be able to earn some pretty sweet cars through the Festival Playlist like the Morris Traveller and the new and exclusive Mini Countryman.

Custom Adventure finally here

Custom Adventure has been teased before but as of Update 9 is finally releasing. It's found in the regular multiplayer area of the game, but allows you to set parameters for an online adventure.

You can choose the series, car class, whether you have collisions on or off and, perhaps best of all, whether or not you want to play Freeroam Rush. Car classes are limited at first, but Playground Games will be watching and could tweak this in the future.

The multiplayer modes in Forza Horizon 4 are a lot of fun but not everyone enjoys getting smashed around the circuits. Or in my case, hates playing Freeroam Rush. Custom Adventure allows you to build an online multiplayer session that better suits your preferences.

Custom Adventure won't be applied to ranked play.

Bye bye wall riding

If you've been getting unfair advantages in races by exploiting "wall riding" then there's bad news in store. As of Update 9, wall riding will be penalized thanks to a new system being implemented in online multiplayer.

The new system will kick in to prevent obvious advantages from going far too fast into a corner and using the wall to keep the momentum going. The only surface is doesn't apply to is trees.

If you're deemed to be trying to wall ride you'll now get a slowdown penalty and be ghosted so as not to interfere with other players. If you're pushed into the wall by another player you won't suffer the penalty, though.

Additionally, if you're going far too fast into a corner, either to wall ride or to deliberately ram another player, you should now be ghosted so you don't hit anyone else. Then you'll get a slow down penalty. The message is pretty clear: Play properly, or be penalized.

New Horizon Story in Festival Playlist

Update 9 brings another new Horizon Story into the mix, and this time around its part of the monthly Festival Playlist. Getting stars in the story will go towards your completion, and additionally, it's another business that will generate daily credits to add to your balance.

It introduces a new character, a German auto engineer, and is based on the super glamorous world of car insurance. It's surely a lot more fun than the subject matter would suggest, and if you can complete it with all 30 stars you can unlock a special reward in the shape of a crash test dummy outfit.

No expansion two talk yet

Something that Forza Horizon 4 fans are eagerly awaiting is the next proper expansion pack. Fortune Island has been around for a few months now and while it gets weekly seasonal challenges of its own to keep popping fresh content our way, there's no denying the hunger for the next proper adventure.

We're at the point now where many are expecting that expansion two would be coming soon. But if it is, Playground Games isn't ready to talk about it just yet. So the waiting continues.

Update 9 is due to launch this week, most likely by May 8 before the next weekly season change.

Xbox accessories you'll love

Every one of these quality accessories is guaranteed to enhance your Xbox experience.

PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox One ($20 at Amazon)

PowerA's take on the Xbox One controller is an attractive pickup for budget-conscious gamers that nails all the basics.

Talon PDP Xbox media remote ($20 at Amazon)

The Talon PDP Xbox media remote is great for watching shows on your console.

Xbox One S vertical stand ($10 at Amazon)

Stand your console upright with this accessory.

The next content update for Forza Horizon 4 has been detailed by its developer, Playground Games, and the big attention point is the multiplayer aspect of the game. Besides an all new game mode to enjoy, there will be fixes to the existing experience which will make a pretty important improvement to everyone's online fun.

Update 8 is being known as the Drift Adventure update, in honor of the new multiplayer game mode being added. Drift Adventure is the first multiplayer mode in Forza Horizon 4 dedicated entirely to the art of going sideways, as you compete against other players in pursuit of the best single lap drift score.

In conjunction with this a new drift camera view is being added — a similar one has recently made it into Forza Motorsport 7 — that angles the camera to better work with the additional sideways motions of drifting.

Beyond Drift Adventure, Playground has also been listening to community feedback and some pretty stellar changes are coming to the existing online adventure experience.

• S2 Class has been removed from Dirt Racing Championships.
• B Class has been added to Dirt Racing Championships.
• Freeroam Rush events have been removed from all Asphalt and Street Race Championships.
• Collisions are disabled for the first 30 seconds of each race. This change also applies to Horizon Life PvP races.

The collisions being disabled in particular will make a huge difference to online races, and is just part of the anti-griefing work that Playground has been undertaking to try and ensure a fun and fair online experience.

All this is in addition to a new Showcase Remix and a new car pack that will be available free to anyone who owns either the Car Pass or the Ultimate Edition of the game, as well as a slew of fixes and improvements. Check out the full patch notes at the Forza Support Forums.

Forza Horizon 4 launched a few months ago, and gamers are loving the open-world racing experience. The game features upgraded visuals and a shared world for an even more community-focused experience. The user feedback seems to be great, and the title has also garnered a lot of critical acclaim from numerous outlets. The game currently sits at a 92 on Metacritic from almost ninety reviews.

Recently, Playground Games — now owned by Microsoft — launched the Fortune Island expansion. While there isn't another major piece of content dropping for another couple of months at least, there are smaller updates in between. Today, the developer detailed the changes coming with the February 4, 2019 update. It's all about increasing storage with this small patch.

• The number of cars you can store in your garage has increased to 750.
• The number of designs you can store has increased to 500.
• The number of vinyl groups you can store has increased to 500.
• The number of tuning setups you can store has increased to 500.
• The number of photos you can store has increased to 150.

It's great to see that the game is getting aggressive post-launch support even months after release. Hopefully this will continue into the future, or at least until the second expansion releases. We wonder what that'll be. Let's hope it's as thrilling as Hot Wheels from Forza Horizon 3!

Do you play Forza Horizon 4? What features do you want to see in the future? Let us know.

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Forza Horizon 4 launched a few months ago, and gamers are loving the open-world racing experience. The game features upgraded visuals and a shared world for an even more community-focused experience. The user feedback seems to be great, and the title has also garnered a lot of critical acclaim from numerous outlets. The game currently sits at a 92 on Metacritic from over eighty reviews.

Recently, Playground Games — now owned by Microsoft — launched the "Fortune Island" expansion. While there isn't another major piece of content dropping for another couple of months at least, there are smaller updates in between. The constant patches and introduction of tweaked features is what keeps players coming back for more. Recently, the game crossed five million players.

Today, the developer announced that Forza Horizon 4 recently crossed seven million players. Keep in mind that the title is available on Xbox Game Pass so that accounts for this total too. Do you play Forza Horizon 4? What compelled you to buy it?

Xbox Game Pass is a Netflix-like subscription but for games. For $9.99 per month, you get access to over a hundred titles at no extra cost. However, just like the video service, certain games — aside from Microsoft exclusives — rotate in and out. While Xbox Game Pass started off as a somewhat lackluster service, it's become much better now with the addition of high-profile games like The Division.

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