In a post put out on the official Forza website, Playground Games confirmed that you will no longer be able to purchase Forza Horizon or any of it's DLC on the Xbox 360 after October 20th.

"While we’re reveling in the euphoria of launching a brand-new Forza game, I do have an important update regarding the original Forza Horizon. "On October 20, the original Forza Horizon for Xbox 360 will reach “End of Life” status. That means that the game and its associated DLC will no longer be available for purchase. Players who own Forza Horizon before that date will still be able to download and play the game and its associated content as normal. After that date, however, Forza Horizon and its associated DLC will no longer be for sale."

This happened last year with Forza Motorsport 4 and is most likely the result of Car Licensing issues. However last year they didn't let anyone know in advance and only confirming it when someone made a thread complaining about it on their forums. They responded with a post stating "Forza Motorsport 4 DLC content has officially reached "end of life" status. This means that this content is no longer available for purchase. However, if you are an FM4 player who has already purchased this content, you will be able to re-download it."

As of now, it seems that the online multiplayer for Forza 3, 4 and Horizon are still active, which is another concern many gamers have with digital games. Additionally, there doesn't appear to have been any changes in content like some titles have had happen when licenses expire, such as when Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had various songs removed.

We reached out to Microsoft to see if they had any comment on the situation and will update the story if they reply.

Quick Take

At least they let people know this time. If you want to play Forza Horizon would recommend you buy either a physical copy or digital copy right now because the prices on those physical copies are probably gonna start going up after October 20th. We've seen this happen before with digital games and it's one of the big justifiable fears of a digital-only market. Luckily I still have my PS4 with P.T. installed and I still have an Xbox 360 with Scott Pilgrim installed, but many weren't as lucky as I. I have no doubt that emulation will bring these games back some day but I can't help but be dubious of an all-digital market.

What do you think of the situation? Tell us what you think in the comments or on our forums!