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Can I Run It

Can I Run Forza Horizon 4 on My PC / Laptop?

A 2018 open-world racer built on the light, well-optimized ForzaTech engine. Delisted from digital stores in December 2024, but still fully playable for anyone who already owns it.

RacingMar 9, 2021Playground Games

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Can I run Forza Horizon 4 on my PC?

Use the checker above to find out in seconds. Pick your graphics card and processor and it compares them against Forza Horizon 4's official requirements. As a quick guide, you need at least a NVidia 650TI OR AMD R7 250x graphics card, a Intel i3-4170 @ 3.7Ghz OR Intel i5 750 @ 2.67Ghz processor, and 8 GB RAM of RAM to play at 1080p.

Can I run Forza Horizon 4 on my laptop?

Yes, if your laptop has a dedicated graphics card around a NVidia 650TI OR AMD R7 250x or better and 8 GB RAM of RAM. Laptops with only integrated graphics usually fall short. Enter your laptop's GPU in the tool above to check. Keep in mind that the laptop version of a card runs a little slower than the desktop card of the same name, and heat can lower sustained frame rates.

Forza Horizon 4 is one of the lightest AAA racing games you can run today. If your PC beats a seven-year-old NVidia 650 Ti or AMD R7 250X, you clear the official minimum, and almost any card from the last decade blows past the recommended tier without trying. The part people get wrong is not the hardware. It is the storefront: as of December 15, 2024, Forza Horizon 4 was delisted from Steam and the Microsoft Store. You cannot buy a new copy anywhere official anymore, though anyone who already owns it can still download, install, and play it, online features included.

Compare your exact parts against those requirements using the checker above. Further down sits the full spec breakdown, real frame rate numbers across a wide range of cards, and a closer look at why this game runs so well almost everywhere, what the delisting actually changed, and the shader compile pause that catches new players off guard.

Forza Horizon 4 system requirements

MinimumRecommended
Processor (CPU)Intel i3-4170 @ 3.7Ghz OR Intel i5 750 @ 2.67GhzIntel i7-3820 @ 3.6Ghz
Graphics card (GPU)NVidia 650TI OR AMD R7 250xNVidia GTX 970 OR NVidia GTX 1060 3GB OR AMD R9 290x OR AMD RX 470
Memory (RAM)8 GB RAM12 GB RAM
Operating systemWindows 10 version 15063.0 or higherWindows 10 version 15063.0 or higher
DirectXVersion 12Version 12
Storage80 GB available space100 GB available space

Storage: 80 GB (closer to 100 GB with car packs and updates included). A hard drive works, but an SSD cuts load times a lot.

Full performance tiers

TierTargetCPUGPURAM
Minimum1080p, low settingsIntel i3-4170 @ 3.7Ghz OR Intel i5 750 @ 2.67GhzNVidia 650TI OR AMD R7 250x8 GB RAM
Recommended1080p, high settingsIntel i7-3820 @ 3.6GhzNVidia GTX 970 OR NVidia GTX 1060 3GB OR AMD R9 290x OR AMD RX 47012 GB RAM
4K Ultra (unofficial, research based)4K, ultra settings, 60+ fpsCore i5-9600K / Ryzen 5 3600 or betterRTX 3070 / RX 6700 XT or better16 GB

Forza Horizon 4 FPS by graphics card

Graphics card1080p1440p4KNotes
GTX 1050 Ti~45-55 (Medium), , Below the official recommended card. Ultra settings will dip under 60 fps.
GTX 1060 6GB~73 (Ultra)~57 (Ultra)~38 (Ultra)The low end of the official recommended tier, and it still has room to spare.
RX 580~75 (Ultra), , Tracks the GTX 1060 6GB closely at every resolution.
GTX 1660~110-120 (Ultra), , Well past the point where more frames make a real difference in a racing game.
RTX 3060~155-160 (Ultra)~110-120 (Ultra), Measured around 158 fps at 1080p ultra. From here the CPU is the limiter, not the card.
RTX 4070~230+ (Ultra), ~90-100 (Ultra)The tier where 4K ultra becomes genuinely smooth rather than just playable.

Older cards (GTX 10-series, RX 500-series) come from period testing at ultra settings; RTX 30 and 40-series numbers come from more recent retesting. Real results shift with your CPU, driver version, and traffic density on screen, and Forza Horizon 4 is CPU-limited on faster cards well before the GPU runs out of headroom.

Can these graphics cards run Forza Horizon 4?

Graphics cardVerdictNotes
GTX 1050 TiPlayableMeets minimum. Low to medium at 1080p, tune for a steady rate.
GTX 1650PlayableClears the minimum. 1080p low to medium, better with upscaling.
RX 570PlayableClears the minimum. 1080p low to medium, better with upscaling.
RX 580PlayableClears the minimum. 1080p low to medium, better with upscaling.
GTX 1060 6GBRuns wellAbove recommended. 1080p high is easy, and 1440p works too.
GTX 1650 SuperRuns wellBeats the recommended spec. Comfortable high 1080p, playable 1440p.
GTX 1660Runs wellStrong fit. High settings at 1080p, 1440p within reach.
GTX 1660 SuperRuns wellExceeds recommended. 1080p high is comfortable, 1440p fine.
RTX 3050Runs wellBeats the recommended spec. Comfortable high 1080p, playable 1440p.
GTX 1660 TiRuns wellAbove recommended. 1080p high is easy, and 1440p works too.
RX 6600Runs wellPast the recommended tier. High settings at 1080p, 1440p on the table.
RTX 2060Runs wellBeats the recommended spec. Comfortable high 1080p, playable 1440p.
RTX 4050Runs wellBeats the recommended spec. Comfortable high 1080p, playable 1440p.
Arc A750Runs wellOver the recommended bar. Smooth high 1080p, 1440p realistic.
RTX 3060Runs wellExceeds recommended. 1080p high is comfortable, 1440p fine.
RX 6600 XTRuns wellExceeds recommended. 1080p high is comfortable, 1440p fine.
RX 7600Runs wellRecommended tier or better. High 1080p, with room for 1440p.
RX 6700 XTRuns wellBeats the recommended spec. Comfortable high 1080p, playable 1440p.
RTX 4060Runs wellAt or above the recommended card. Smooth 1080p high, 1440p realistic.
RTX 3060 TiRuns wellOver the recommended bar. Smooth high 1080p, 1440p realistic.
RTX 3070Runs wellStrong fit. High settings at 1080p, 1440p within reach.
RTX 4070Runs wellExceeds recommended. 1080p high is comfortable, 1440p fine.
Forza Horizon 4 screenshotForza Horizon 4 screenshotForza Horizon 4 screenshotForza Horizon 4 screenshot

Why this game barely stresses modern hardware

Forza Horizon 4 came out in 2018 on the ForzaTech engine, and Playground Games tuned it hard for a huge range of PCs. The official minimum card is an NVidia 650 Ti or AMD R7 250X, both from 2012 and 2013. Even a budget card from the last few years clears that by a wide margin. That is why a GTX 1060 6GB, itself the low end of the recommended tier, holds around 73 fps at 1080p on ultra settings in independent testing.

Once you move past a GTX 1660 or RTX 2060, the game mostly stops being GPU-limited at 1080p. An RTX 3060 has been measured at around 158 fps at 1080p ultra, and stronger cards climb from there mainly because the CPU, not the graphics card, sets the ceiling. If you are chasing very high frame rates on a modern GPU, an older or budget CPU like an i3 or Ryzen 3 will hold you back before the graphics card does.

What the December 2024 delisting actually changed

Microsoft and Playground Games pulled Forza Horizon 4 from Steam and the Microsoft Store on December 15, 2024, and it also left Xbox Game Pass. The reason was licensing. The game's real-world car and location deals were only cleared through that date, and renewing them was not worth it for an aging title with a newer entry already out. The DLC and car packs went first, back in June 2024, and the base game and editions followed in December.

Delisting is not a shutdown. If you already own Forza Horizon 4 on Steam or Xbox, your license stays valid, and you can still download, install, and play it, including online features and the Drivatar system, since there is no announced plan to pull the servers. What you can no longer do is buy a fresh digital copy. The routes left are a leftover physical disc, a resale key bought before the cutoff, or GeForce Now, which will stream it if the game is already linked to your account. It never launched on Xbox Cloud Gaming, despite being a first-party Xbox title.

The shader compile pause and other quirks to expect

The most common complaint from new and returning players is not frame rate. It is a stutter, or a pause that can run several minutes, the first time the game loads after installing it, updating it, or changing your graphics driver. That is Forza Horizon 4 compiling shaders for your specific GPU, and it happens automatically at the main menu before you can start racing. Let it finish rather than force closing the game. If it seems stuck, clearing the cef and scratch folders inside %localappdata%\ForzaHorizon4 and relaunching usually resets it.

Two more things catch people out. The game only runs in DirectX 12, so a GPU without DX12 support will not launch it no matter how otherwise capable it is, which rules out a handful of very old cards. And on Steam Deck, the Microsoft account sign-in screen does not render in Gaming Mode. You have to switch to Desktop Mode, sign in with a keyboard and mouse, and then switch back. Once that is done, the Deck runs the game well.

Can I run Forza Horizon 4? Your questions answered

An Intel i3-4170 or i5-750 processor, an NVidia 650 Ti or AMD R7 250X graphics card, and 8 GB of RAM. The full minimum and recommended specs are in the table above.

For a smoother experience, Forza Horizon 4 asks for an Intel i7-3820 processor, an NVidia GTX 970, GTX 1060 3GB, AMD R9 290X, or RX 470 graphics card, and 12 GB of RAM.

No, it is one of the lighter AAA games on PC. The official minimum GPU dates to 2012 and 2013, and cards released in the last several years clear the recommended tier easily. Most of the performance conversation is about frame rate ceilings on strong hardware, not about whether a PC can run it at all.

Yes. Delisting only stopped new sales. Owners can still download, install, and play the game normally, including online racing and the Drivatar system, since there is no announced plan to shut down the servers.

No. Being delisted does not mean it became free. It means Microsoft and Steam stopped selling new copies as of December 15, 2024. If you already own it, you keep full access at no extra cost, but there is no legitimate way to acquire it for free today.

Licensing. The real-world car brands, music, and locations featured in the game were only cleared for sale through December 2024, and Playground Games chose not to renew those deals for an older title once Forza Horizon 5 was established.

Not through official digital storefronts. Steam and the Microsoft Store both pulled it in December 2024. Your remaining options are a leftover physical disc for Xbox, a resale digital key purchased before the cutoff, or access through a cloud service if the game is already tied to an account.

About 80 GB for the base install, closer to 100 GB once car packs and updates are counted. Steam lists 80 GB as the baseline requirement.

It is not required. A hard drive works fine, but installing on an SSD noticeably shortens load times between events and the initial shader compile step.

Yes, and there is no fallback to DirectX 11. Your graphics card has to support DX12, which rules out a small number of older cards even if their raw performance would otherwise be enough.

8 GB is the official minimum and 12 GB is recommended. Either amount is enough for this game, though 16 GB gives you more comfortable headroom for background apps.

That is the shader compile step, which runs automatically the first time you start the game after installing it, patching it, or updating your graphics driver. It can take several minutes on slower hardware. Let it finish at the main menu rather than closing the game.

Forza Horizon 5 asks for noticeably more: an 8 GB graphics card and 16 GB of RAM at minimum, against Forza Horizon 4's far older GPU floor and 8 GB of RAM. Forza Horizon 4 is the easier game to run on old or budget hardware.

Yes, for most of the game. 2 GB clears 1080p at low to medium settings without much trouble, since the ForzaTech engine was tuned to run on cards with far less memory than modern titles expect. Push to ultra textures at 1440p or 4K and a 2 GB card starts to struggle, but at 1080p it holds up fine.

Not comfortably. The official minimum is 8 GB, and 4 GB falls short of that once you count what Windows itself uses in the background. The game may launch, but expect stutter and long load times. 8 GB is the real floor here, not 4 GB.

Yes. The listed requirement is Windows 10 version 15063 or higher. Windows 11 was built on the same core as Windows 10, so it clears that bar without issue, and owners have been running the game on Windows 11 since that OS launched.

Not that Microsoft has announced. The December 2024 delisting stopped new sales, which is a separate matter from the online servers. Owners can still race online and see other players' Drivatars in the world. If the servers do eventually close, older retired Forza titles have tended to stay online for years after leaving the store, so there is no sign of that being imminent.

No, not for the core game. You can drive solo, work through the campaign, and explore the map fully offline. An internet connection is only needed to sign in the first time and for online features like multiplayer races and seeing other players' Drivatars.

Yes, with room to spare. Forza Horizon 4 recommends less than the RTX 3050 offers, so expect smooth 1080p high and a playable 1440p.

Runnable. The GTX 1650 covers Forza Horizon 4's minimum, meaning 1080p low to medium and a smoother feel after a small settings drop. Roughly 65 to 75 fps at 1080p on high to ultra settings, clearing 60 fps with room to spare.

Yes, with room to spare. Forza Horizon 4 recommends less than the GTX 1060 6GB offers, so expect smooth 1080p high and a playable 1440p. Around 73 fps at 1080p ultra, 57 fps at 1440p ultra, and 38 fps at 4K ultra in independent testing. This is the official recommended tier card and it has room to spare.

Runnable. The RX 580 covers Forza Horizon 4's minimum, meaning 1080p low to medium and a smoother feel after a small settings drop. About 75 fps at 1080p ultra, essentially matching the GTX 1060 6GB.

Easily. With the RTX 4060 you are past Forza Horizon 4's recommended tier, which means high settings at 1080p and a genuine shot at 1440p. Around 190 fps or more at 1080p ultra and 150 or so at 1440p ultra, though a modest CPU will cap the frame rate before this card runs out of headroom.

Yes. On the RTX 3060, Forza Horizon 4 runs at high settings in 1080p and scales up to 1440p without much fuss. About 155 to 160 fps at 1080p ultra in independent benchmarks, and roughly 110 to 120 at 1440p ultra. The CPU becomes the limiter before this card does.

Yes, comfortably. The RTX 2060 sits at or above Forza Horizon 4's recommended card, so 1080p on high is smooth and 1440p is well within reach. Around 120 to 130 fps at 1080p ultra, with plenty left over for 1440p ultra near 90 fps.

Yes, comfortably. The GTX 1660 sits at or above Forza Horizon 4's recommended card, so 1080p on high is smooth and 1440p is well within reach. Around 110 to 120 fps at 1080p ultra, well past the point where extra frames make a real difference in a racing game.

No trouble at all. The GTX 1660 Super meets or beats what Forza Horizon 4 recommends, so 1080p high runs well and 1440p is realistic.

Yes, comfortably. The RX 6600 sits at or above Forza Horizon 4's recommended card, so 1080p on high is smooth and 1440p is well within reach. Similar to an RTX 3060, around 140 to 150 fps at 1080p ultra.

Plenty of power here. The GTX 1660 Ti is above Forza Horizon 4's recommended tier, so high 1080p is smooth and 1440p is a fair target.

No trouble at all. The RTX 3060 Ti meets or beats what Forza Horizon 4 recommends, so 1080p high runs well and 1440p is realistic.

Comfortably, yes. The RTX 4050 clears Forza Horizon 4's recommended bar, which puts high 1080p and 1440p both in reach.

Fine for a lighter setup. The GTX 1050 Ti clears Forza Horizon 4's minimum, so target 1080p low to medium and adjust down for a steady rate. About 45 to 55 fps at 1080p on medium settings. It sits below the official recommended card, so ultra settings will dip under 60 fps.

Comfortably, yes. The RTX 4070 clears Forza Horizon 4's recommended bar, which puts high 1080p and 1440p both in reach. Over 230 fps at 1080p ultra, with 4K ultra sitting around 90 to 100 fps.

No MacBook runs Forza Horizon 4 natively, M-series chip or not, since Playground Games never built a Mac version. GeForce Now can stream it if the game is already tied to your account, and an unofficial Windows layer like CrossOver is the fallback option.

A recent chip usually manages it. Intel Iris Xe and AMD's Vega or RDNA-based APUs already clear the official minimum GPU comfortably, holding roughly 720p on medium settings near 60 fps. Step back to something older like Intel UHD 620 and performance drops hard, down into the high teens even at 720p on the lowest preset.

Not on its own hardware. Cloud streaming through GeForce Now is the way in, and even then only if the game is already linked to your account, since fresh purchases stopped being possible after the delisting.

Yes, and it runs well given how light the game is. It carries a Playable rating on Steam Deck rather than full Verified status, because the Microsoft account sign-in screen does not display correctly in Gaming Mode. Switch to Desktop Mode once to sign in with a keyboard and mouse, then switch back and the game runs smoothly from there.

Yes, and it does not take a top-tier card. An RTX 3070 or RX 6700 XT class GPU holds 60 fps or more at 4K ultra, and anything stronger has plenty of room beyond that.

Easily. A GTX 1060 6GB already manages around 57 fps at 1440p ultra, and an RTX 2060 or better clears 90 fps without much effort.

Very little by current standards. A GTX 1060 6GB or RX 580 already holds well above 60 fps at 1080p ultra, and even weaker cards hit 60 fps by dropping to medium settings.

Most cards from the last decade can. A GTX 1060 6GB or RX 580 runs ultra settings at 1080p above 60 fps, and mid-range cards from the RTX 20-series onward push well past 100 fps at the same settings.

Yes, 8GB is the official minimum and it holds up fine on its own for this game. Step up to 16GB only if you want comfortable room for background apps like Discord or a browser running at the same time.

Overkill for the game itself, yes. Forza Horizon 4 only asks for 8 to 12GB officially, so nothing about a 32GB kit moves the needle here unless other software running alongside it needs the headroom.

Less than in most modern games. Even a 4 GB card handles 1080p at medium to high settings without the texture stutter you would see in a heavier, newer title. VRAM only becomes a real limit at 4K on ultra textures.

Forza Horizon 4 was never built for Linux, but Proton handles it well since the game itself is light. The one snag carries over from Steam Deck: the Microsoft account sign-in screen does not always render cleanly through Proton, so signing in via a browser or a plain desktop session first can save you trouble. Once you are past that it runs smoothly, just remember the game is delisted from purchase, so this only matters if you already own a copy.

Yes. An enhanced Xbox Series X/S version shipped in November 2020 on top of the original Xbox One release. Delisting removed it from new sale on both consoles, but owners keep access. This page focuses on the PC version.

No. Forza Horizon 4 was never released on PlayStation. It is exclusive to Xbox consoles and Windows PC.

No. There is no Switch version, and none was ever announced. The game is limited to Xbox and PC.

Yes, through GeForce Now, as long as the game is already linked to the Xbox or Steam account you sign in with, since new purchases are no longer available. It is not on Xbox Cloud Gaming, despite being a first-party Xbox title.

Few recent AAA games are this forgiving. The official minimum, an NVidia 650 Ti or AMD R7 250X, an i3-4170, and 8GB of RAM, gets you 1080p on low settings, and most low-end PCs built in the last several years clear that floor without trying.

Yes. The official minimum CPU is an Intel i3-4170, and any current i3 or Ryzen 3 chip exceeds it by a wide margin. On stronger graphics cards, an entry-level CPU like this can become the frame rate ceiling before the GPU does.

Check DirectX 12 support first, since a graphics card without it simply won't launch the game. After that, look at an outdated graphics driver, or the possibility you're trying to play before the one-time shader compile step has finished at the main menu. Update drivers and give that shader step room to finish before assuming anything is actually broken.

If you can find a genuine physical Xbox copy or a key purchased before the December 2024 cutoff, yes. The game itself is unaffected by delisting, and it remains one of the lightest, most forgiving AAA racers to run. Just be cautious of reseller keys claiming to be new, since no new digital keys can legitimately be generated anymore.

It clears the bar. Intel Iris Xe, built into a lot of recent laptop processors, exceeds the official minimum GPU and manages roughly 720p to 1080p on low to medium settings, landing around 30 to 45 fps. A smooth 60 fps at higher settings is out of reach, but the game itself runs fine.

It depends on the generation. Older Intel HD Graphics chips, like HD 4000 or HD 620, fall short of the official minimum and struggle to hold even 20 to 30 fps at the lowest settings. Newer Intel UHD Graphics chips do a bit better, but for a reliable experience you want at least Iris Xe or a discrete card.

No. Forza Horizon 4 launched for Xbox One and Windows PC in 2018 and later added an Xbox Series X/S version. It was never built for the older Xbox 360 hardware.

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