It's increasingly common that modern sports and racing game releases have an "End of Life," a date they're removed from storefronts due to expiring licenses or growing server costs to keep them afloat. It's not something anyone is happy with, but is representative of today's always-online industry and push for licensed music or other products. The original Forza Horizon is an excellent example of this, as it reached "End of Life" status in 2016. At least, it was a great example before Forza Horizon suddenly reappeared on the Xbox marketplace recently.
The original Forza Horizon, released in 2012 exclusively for the Xbox 360, briefly became available to purchase Saturday morning. It was discovered by Xbox fans on the Xbox marketplace, where it was available for $19.99 for close to six hours. Oddly enough, it was not available through the Microsoft Store, where its profile remains without a purchase option. It was only available on the Xbox marketplace, via Xbox.com or on both Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It was ultimately removed once more around 11:30 am PT.
While it was available, Forza Horizon was listed as fully playable for both Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Those that managed to purchase it should have that access. Forza Horizon also retained an Xbox One X Enhanced label, signaling improved performance. The Xbox Live tag was also listed, which could mean that online support for the open-world racing game may work.
What wasn't available was all of Forza Horizon's DLC, of which there are a significant number. Microsoft and developer Playground Games released a ton of car packs and individual cars for purchase as DLC, but all of them were listed as "Not Available Separately" for the duration of Forza Horizon's availability.
Given the lack of DLC availability and the lack of a listing on the Microsoft Store, it's very clear that Forza Horizon's sudden return to availability was a big mistake. Some fans wondered if Microsoft would be returning Forza Horizon to availability permanently, which could happen someday. But by all available evidence, this was just one big mix-up. It's odd, to say the least.
As noted, Forza Horizon has been unavailable for purchase digitally since 2016. On October 20, 2016, the Forza Horizon development team confirmed the game had reached its "End of Life" after four years of availability and removed Forza Horizon and its DLC from storefronts with no further explanation. Forza Horizon 2 had been available for two years, by that point. It was a sad day, considering it was such a significant game release, and remains sad now. Hopefully, at least a few Xbox users were able to buy the game during its 5-hour return.
Forza Horizon is no longer available for purchase.