Summary

• Forza Horizon 3's online services continue despite the game being delisted in 2020.
• A community manager confirmed the servers were rebooted after players reported certain unavailable features, reaffirming Playground Games' commitment to maintaining online services.
• Forza Horizon 5 recently set a new milestone, accumulating over 40 million players since its launch in 2021.

Forza Horizon 3's online services have recently been revitalized, much to the delight of fans, despite the game being delisted. Playground Games has demonstrated a strong commitment to keeping these features active. Initially, there was concern that Forza Horizon 3’s multiplayer would be discontinued, following the precedent set by the original Forza Horizon and Forza Horizon 2. However, a community manager from Playground Games reassured fans that the online features remain robust and operational.

The Forza franchise began with Forza Motorsport in 2005, followed by the first Forza Horizon game in 2012. The latest addition, Forza Horizon 5, sparked some controversy after being omitted from the Best Ongoing Game category at The Game Awards 2024. Despite this, Forza Horizon 5 has offered more post-launch content than any other game in the series, including significant updates like the Hide and Seek multiplayer mode.

On Reddit, user JoaoPaulo3k shared a screenshot of a post asking, “Is this the end of Forza 3?” The player was unable to access certain features, causing community concern about potential service termination. Fortunately, Playground’s senior community manager, hailed as a “saint” by fans, responded to these concerns and confirmed that the servers had been rebooted. Forza Horizon 3 reached its “End of Life” status in 2020, meaning the base game and its DLC are no longer available for purchase on the Microsoft Store.

Forza Horizon 3's Online Services Endure Despite Game Being Delisted

Last year, the Forza community faced another setback when Forza Horizon 4 was delisted in December 2024, despite its success and over 24 million players since its 2018 launch. It's encouraging to see Playground Games address online issues and general concerns about Forza Horizon 3 so swiftly. The community manager also noted a positive increase in traffic following the server reboot.

Three years after its debut, Forza Horizon 5 achieved a remarkable milestone by attracting over 40 million players since its 2021 release. This open-world racer has become one of Xbox’s most successful titles, and fans are eagerly anticipating the next installment, likely to be named Forza Horizon 6. There's a strong desire among the player base for a Japan-themed setting, and it's possible that Playground Games is quietly working on this while also finalizing the much-anticipated Fable game.