Recently, I spent a good amount of hours playing Forza Horizon 6 for a preview some of you may have seen on Pure Xbox, and I had a fantastic time with Xbox's upcoming 2026 racer. In fact, I'd started getting withdrawal symptoms after the preview concluded - so much so that a re-install of my favourite FH game was on the cards while I wait; Forza Horizon 4. While heading back to open-world Britain was a tough transition at first, what greeted me was a game that's still thriving, and one that'll always have a special place in my heart.
The instant I dipped back into Horizon 4 this past week, I was quickly greeted with a 'Forzathon Live' event - so naturally, I headed straight for that to take part. When I arrived, there were loads of players preparing to kick things off, and honestly, it felt like I was back playing around the launch of the game! We quickly blasted through the event and snagged our points, and I can definitely say that despite its recent delisting, plenty of folks still play Forza Horizon 4 on Xbox and PC.
It's still a pretty good looking game too, especially on Series X and S. Sure, it doesn't quite have the polish of its follow-up in Forza Horizon 5, but the smooth 60FPS playback combined with Playground's take on its homeland still hits, even in 2026. I can't wait to dive back into the team's densely-packed rendition of Japan, but will I keep dipping back into Horizon Britain for that nostalgic blast even when FH6 is out? You know what, I probably will.
Touching on FH5 for a second while I've mentioned it there - I have nothing against the series' move to Mexico, but there's just something that isn't quite compelling me enough to spool it back up and dive back in before Horizon 6. Maybe it's because I fell off the game pretty quickly and don't have those memories attached to it? Maybe it's because Horizon Mexico is indeed a little more 'boring' than other recent FH maps? I'm not 100% sure on the reason(s), but Horizon 4 is filling my open-world racing vacuum for now, and I've been having a blast with it.
Anyway, I just wanted to bring this up because I know a good chunk of the community didn't quite vibe with Horizon 5 either - and in that case there's still plenty of us loading into FH4, racing across the roads of Britain, and taking part in Forzathon Lives to boot. You'll need to play on disc or have picked this one up before its delisting in 2024, but if you have it, Horizon 4 is absolutely still worth playing. And for me, it's definitely easing the wait for Forza Horizon 6!