What you need to know
- Microsoft doesn't have a great track record with mobile games, with many of them meeting sudden closures at some point.
- Forza Street, the mobile adaptation of the critically acclaimed Forza racing series, is the latest mobile game to be shut down.
- In its final update today, Forza Street was revealed to be closing for good in Spring 2022, with little reason given.
- Players still invested in Forza Street can enjoy massively reduced in-game prices and wait times until the game shuts down.
Forza Street was initially released in 2019 on Windows PCs in an attempt to translate the magic of the excellent Forza racing games to the mobile format. In a blog post from Forza Support, it was revealed that Forza Street is officially shuttering its doors less than two years after its debut on Android and iOS devices. On Monday, the final update for Forza Street was released to players with a host of changes and updates to the experience ahead of the shut down later this year.
The final update for Forza Street incorporates the following changes:
- All in-game microtransactions have been deactivated, and any purchases made in the last 30 days will be refunded to players
- All purchases using in-game currency have been massively discounted
- Energy recharging rates and Energy storage has been greatly increased
- Wait times on Car Shows have been reduced
- A new unreleased car has been added
- A 12-week long spotlight featuring many Rare and Epic cars will begin on Jan. 17, 2022
Forza Street wasn't necessarily a bad game, but it failed to differentiate itself from more established pre-existing mobile racing games in any meaningful way, and never captured mass-market appeal. With the final update, Forza Street's fate has been sealed, but committed players can at least finish playing the game and filling out their collections with greater ease if they choose to do so.
As of now, there's no definitive closing date for Forza Steet, but the game's end is arriving sometime in Spring 2022, likely shortly after the 12-week spotlight event starting on Jan. 17. After Forza Street shuts down, the game and all its features will be unavailable and it will be permanently removed from app stores.
Microsoft has attempted to capitalize on the mobile game market with its gaming IPs several times in the past, like with the ill-fated Minecraft Earth that shut down last year, but the company has so far failed to find its footing in the highly competitive mobile gaming market. Our own Jez Corden has previously discussed why Microsoft should consider purchasing an experienced mobile game developer to help in its efforts, since previous attempts have ended much in the same way as Forza Street.
If you're still seeking to bring a bit of Forza onto your mobile devices, Forza Horizon 5 is now available and is absolutely one of the best Xbox racing games around. Even better, Forza Horizon 5 is available through Xbox Cloud Gaming, which means you can play it on the go wherever there's internet.
The best open-world racer
Playground Games has delivered their latest masterpiece with Forza Horizon 5, which features the series' most diverse map and largest car list yet. Forza Horizon 5 somehow fulfills its ambitious promises to be the best open-world racer right now, and one of the best racing games in general.
