Forza Horizon 4 Breaks Player Record Years After Release

Forza Horizon 4 has seen a major resurgence in player numbers thanks to last week’s delisting announcement. With the Horizon Festival in Scotland drawing to a close, players have traveled back to the country for one last race around Edinburgh.

End of the road

Since launching in September 2018, Fora Horizon 4 has hosted hundreds of thousands of races in and around Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. The game was also the first entry in the series to feature a synchronized, shared world.

This meant that instead of encountering AI Drivatars as they drive around, players can see and interact with other racers around the globe. This brought a real community spirit to the Horizon Festival.

It was therefore sad to see the announcement last week that after nearly six years of racing, Forza Horizon 4 is reaching the end of the road at the end of 2024. The game’s DLC has already been delisted, with new playlists ending at the end of August and the game disappearing from digital stores in December.

This brings an end to arguably one of the best entries in the Forza Horizon series. Although the servers will remain online after these dates, it remains to be seen how many miles FH4 has left in the tank.

Clearly, this news has stirred nostalgia in the game’s fanbase, as less than a week after the revelation, Forza Horizon 4 has broken a player record years after its release.

Forza Horizon 4 breaks player record

Forza Horizon 4 delisting announcement saw players flock back to Scotland for their last laps of Edinburgh. The weekend after the announcement saw players reach an all-time high, with over 60,000 returning to Auld Reekie.

June 27 saw a peak of over 65,000 players taking to the Scottish roads on Steam, setting a new player count record. However, that record has already been beaten, with the player count peaking at 75,689 players last weekend. Interestingly, that's more than double Forza Horizon 5's player count, which peaked at 24,483 players last weekend according to SteamDB.

While the majority of this number is players returning for their last races, the player spike can also be attributed to an 80% discount currently available. As with any game, reducing the price as it reaches its end springs one last influx of players before it is forever consigned to history.

With Forza Horizon 5 still receiving regular content updates, and rumors of Forza Horizon 6 being just around the corner, it makes sense that FH4 is reaching the end of its life. But for those who logged on regularly to chase the Flying Scotsman around the map, seeing Forza Horizon 4 disappear forever will be a tough pill to swallow.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the latest racing game news and deals straight to your inbox!

Will you be heading back to Scotland for one last race? Let us know below!

Join the conversation