At some point between 1400-1930 PDT on Monday, October 24, 2016, Forza Horizon was officially delisted from the Xbox Live store.
The only item that is currently listed, is the Forza Horizon SmartGlass Experience module (which, for compatible devices, will presumably continue to work with the Xbox 360 SmartGlass app) (can anyone out there verify this?). For those interested in at least knowing what used to be shown there, here is a link to the last version of its Xbox Marketplace page as reflected at the Internet Archive (the āWayback Machineā):
Previous version of the Xbox Marketplace page for Forza Horizon, showing videos and DLC prior to Oct 24, 2016
As a late comer to the first Forza Horizon: Last week, I managed to acquire all DLC EXCEPT the following:
- Limited Collectorās Edition (5 cars available elsewhere in game, but each with custom liveries)
- Unicorns (7 cars, no longer available)
- Ford Shelby GT500 w/Rockstar Energy livery (now-expired promotion)
- Ford Mustang Boss 302 w/Pizza Hut livery (now-expired promotion)
In my limited testing: If prior to the delisting, one already had the appropriate DLC (cars, expansion packs, liveries, etc.) purchased/attached to their Xbox Live account, the following summarizes the state of things for the game as of October 2016:
WORKING
- 1000 Club (if previously obtained, prior to the delisting)
- Rally Expansion (if previously obtained, prior to the delisting)
- Design Storefront
- Rivals
- Multiplayer (including matchmaking, leveling, prizes/rewards)
NOT WORKING
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The in-game Marketplace at the Festival, which remains offline (as it has been for some weeks/months, so far as I can gather from the hundreds of forum posts both here, and across the Web, complaining about this important loss of functionality). To that endā¦
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Token purchase, would seem to have effectively ended. Tokens were never available via the Xbox Live Marketplaceās Web site; instead, they were available for purchase ONLY from within the in-game Marketplace, or via the Map or Rally main screens when attempting to unlock the Treasure Map, Fast Travel Anywhere, or the Rally All-Access Pass (with the unlock process really just functioning as a digital āhookā into the same (now-offline) Marketplace, via the Xbox 360 Dashboard).
Tokens were the only way to access the aforementioned unlocks, whether on an Xbox 360 or on an Xbox One, via Backward Compatibility. Note that tokens were NEVER available to successfully purchase and redeem via the Xbox One, via Backward Compatibilityāone could purchase them through the Dashboard, but they would not actually show up within the Xbox Oneās saved game.
For Backward Compatibility, the workaround WAS for one to have used an Xbox 360 to load up oneās saved game, purchase the requisite tokens, unlock these features, and then begin/resume playing on Xbox One (as the unlocks would then carry over with the transferred saved game). However, since all Marketplace functionality has been lost with the delisting, tokens can no longer be purchased within game (regardless of platform; verified on both an Xbox 360, as well as on an Xbox One, via Backward Compatibility).
Accordingly, there is likely no (easy/cheap) way to unlock the Treasure Map, Fast Travel Anywhere, or the All-Access Pass for the Rally. However, read on asā¦
UNABLE TO VERIFY AT THIS TIME
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Car Clubs (I donāt know any other FH1 gamers, and so feel free to send me a Private Message if you have a working Car Club and Iāll update this posting accordingly)
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Whether or not unused DLC codes from the Limited Collectorās Edition (LCE), or for any other DLC from the game really, would still be redeemable via the Xbox Live Marketplaceās Redeem a Code page. Iāve seen an occasional code on eBay since the delisting occurred, for DLC and even for digital copies of the main game itself; but I have not purchased anything there to test with (beyond what I obtained prior to the delisting).
The āVIP Credentialsā card inside the LCE, contained (3) DLC codes for the following:
- The (5) Day One cars (from the October 2012 Car Pack), as well as the (5) Limited Collectorās Editions liveries
- VIP Membership
- The āHorizon Accellerator Packā, which provides (3) tokens
An example of the āVIP Credentialsā card
As far as I can tell: Apart from any DLC codes one might be able to obtain from eBay or other, 3rd-party sources, the only way that MAY still be possible to obtain VIP Membership; the October 2012 Car Pack; tokens that can be used to unlock the aforementioned Treasure Map, Fast Travel Anywhere, and/or Rally All-Access Pass; and/or the LCE liveries, would require a convoluted workaround that is likely to be quite expensive for all but the most die-hard Horizon fans. While Iām happy to suggest a process that SHOULD work, there is no guarantee of successāit really comes down to whether or not the DLC codes are still redeemable, and would be accepted by your saved game once those codes have been redeemed (so if anyone out there is crazy enough to try these steps, send me a Private Message with your findings and Iāll update these instructions).
One last thing: IF (and I do mean IF) this method is going to work at all, it will require you to obtain one or more of the physical āVIP Credentialsā cards from a Limited Collectorās Edition (with unusued DLC codes, of course); and (likely) to have access to an Xbox 360. You would then (presumably) do the following:
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Via the Redeem a Code page, redeem the codes for the āDay One DLC and LCE Liveriesā, āVIP Membershipā, and the āHorizon Accellerator Packā. Note that you would need at least TWO Accellerator Pack codes in order to unlock either the Treasure Map (5 tokens), or Fast Travel Anywhere (also 5 tokens); and you would need FIVE Accellerator Pack codes in order to get the full 13 tokens needed to unlock both of those features, as well as the Rally All-Access Pass (which requires 3 additional tokens of its own).
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On an Xbox 360, make sure oneās saved game is stored in Cloud Saved Games; then, login to that saved game (or simply play it on Xbox 360 for the first time), in either case proceeding far enough in the game to be able to reach the Festival. Then, use your tokens to unlock the Treasure Map, Fast Travel Anywhere, and/or the Rally All-Access Pass.
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Save your game to Cloud Saved Games, exit out of the game completely on the Xbox 360, then verify via Settings ā Storage that your Cloud Saved Game files have synchronized with the Xbox Live servers.
Regardless of your scenario or platform, the information in the steps above SHOULD allow you to make use of the extra content and feature unlocks. Again, I CANNOT confirm or guarantee thisācaveat emptor!
If anyone has additional information to add now that The End⢠has come, feel free to reply and Iāll update this post. But for the time being (and for those that had successfully gotten their desired DLC in hand PRIOR to the cutoff on 24 Oct 2016), the game continues to play very well and thereās no reason to think that will change anytime soon.
Good luck, folks. And happy driving!
Best wishes,
NorCalNavyMike