Update: Forza Horizon has now been delisted once again. Clicking through to the store page gives a message that it cannot be purchased, so it looks like it was a mistake after all. Original story below.
Original Story: Forza Horizon has surprisingly reappeared on the Microsoft Store, nearly six years after it was originally delisted from digital storefronts. It is unclear if this is a mistake of a listing or if Microsoft has decided to add the game back after working out licensing issues. The listing for Forza Horizon does show it as playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The pricing is very different between territories though with the North American version showing as $19.99, while the UK version is showing as £29.99. No DLC is available separately.
Forza Horizon was developed by Playground Games and was released in 2013. It kicked off the new direction of Forza games by introducing the Horizon festival. Since then there have been a further 4 Forza Horizon games all exploring different areas. Forza Horizon 4 was set in Great Britain, while the more recent Forza Horizon 5 took us to Mexico.
In our review for Forza Horizon 5, Dom wrote: “Forza Horizon 5 continues the series’ legacy, usurping Forza Horizon 4 as the new pinnacle of open-world racing and as a graphical showcase for the new generation of Xbox console.”
Microsoft is yet to comment on this relisting and whether it is legit or a mistake. If it is legitimate then the surprise is that the game is not on Game Pass like the company’s other first party studio titles. It could be that there are still some issues to resolve, including the yet unavailable DLC that was developed for Forza Horizon. It could be that the DLC is not added as they may need separate contractual discussions with right holders, and it may be that the time and money spent on that would not be financially viable from a business perspective. Once Microsoft make some kind of statement regarding this situation the picture will be much clearer.
Source: Microsoft Store