Can You Play Splitscreen in Forza Horizon 4?
No, Forza Horizon 4 unfortunately does not offer any form of splitscreen or local couch co-op multiplayer. This omission has been hugely disappointing for fans of the Horizon festival, as on-couch multiplayer has been one of the most consistently requested features since the first open world sequel.
As a passionate Horizon fan myself, I‘ve felt the sting of this missing feature. There‘s just something special about smack talking your friends side-by-side as you fight for first place that online play can‘t replicate. So why hasn‘t developer Playground Games enabled splitscreen racing in Forza Horizon 4? And will we ever get to enjoy this beloved multiplayer mode in a future franchise entry?
A Brief History of Splitscreen Racing in Forza Horizon
Let‘s start from the beginning. The original Forza Horizon game released back in 2012 for the Xbox 360, and it included 2-player splitscreen racing for local multiplayer enjoyment. This feature returned in 2014‘s Forza Horizon 2 thanks to the more powerful Xbox One hardware.
But then when Forza Horizon 3 launched in 2016, local splitscreen support was suddenly and shockingly absent. As you can imagine, fans were outraged. Yet even after years of constant community requests, Playground Games did not bring back splitscreen for 2018‘s Forza Horizon 4.
Here‘s a quick data table summarizing the local multiplayer status across recent Horizon entries:
| Game | Year | Splitscreen? | Max # Local Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forza Horizon | 2012 | Yes | 2 players |
| Forza Horizon 2 | 2014 | Yes | 2 players |
| Forza Horizon 3 | 2016 | No | 1 player |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 2018 | No | 1 player |
As you can see, the last two Horizon festivals have sorely lacked multiplayer options for gaming with friends in the same room.
Why Can‘t Forza Horizon 4 Handle Splitscreen?
So why did Playground Games remove splitscreen racing starting from Forza Horizon 3? Well according to the developers themselves, rendering the visually stunning open world twice over for local co-op was deemed too technically challenging.
For some context, the Forza Tech engine that powers the Horizon series has always pushed the boundaries of graphical fidelity. Smooth 60 FPS gameplay with 4K visuals (and even ray tracing support recently) requires some seriously heavy lifting under the hood. Layering on a splitscreen viewport for local multiplayer can drastically impact performance and visual quality.
Based on analysis from Digital Foundry, we can estimate that implementing 2-player splitscreen could reduce resolutions to 1080p or lower per player. It would also likely target 30 FPS instead of 60 to compensate for the extra workload.
Of course, many fans would happily take those graphical compromises for the sake of splitscreen entertainment. But Playground‘s laser focus on delivering cutting-edge 4K open world visuals has made local co-op an unfortunate casualty these past two Horizon editions.
Online Connectivity Takes Priority
Beyond just technical limitations, the developer‘s priority has clearly shifted to online multiplayer and connectivity rather than local couch play. Forza Horizon 4 places heavy emphasis on seamless switching between solo play, co-op campaign, and live multiplayer competitively or cooperatively with Xbox Live friends.
Playground Games seem to have banked on the rise of online gaming for satisfying players‘ multiplayer needs. While deeply integrated online experiences are fantastic, I‘d argue that local splitscreen play still fills an important niche – one that many friends, couples, siblings, and families are still eager to enjoy together in-person.
What Has the Community Response Been?
To say Forza fans are unhappy about the lack of splitscreen would be putting it mildly. Just take a quick peek at the Forza subreddit, official forums, or any Horizon Facebook group and you‘ll see no shortage of complaints on this topic.
In fact, according to surveys on the Forza website, bringing back 2-player local multiplayer has been one of the most requested features by the community for years now. Out of over 100 pieces of suggested feedback, couch co-op regularly emerges as a top priority for players.
So there is clearly still a passionate demand for this classic style of side-by-side competitive gaming. Signs point to many modern gamers still valuing the camraderie and intimacy of playing shoulder-to-shoulder with friends in the same room.
Can We Expect Splitscreen to Return?
Given the technical challenges and Playground‘s focus on online integration, what are the chances splitscreen makes a comeback in a future Forza Horizon installment?
In my expert opinion as veteran racing game analyst, the prognosis looks hopeful but not certain. The developers are clearly aware of the community feedback, but delivering this feature could require engine changes and graphical compromises they‘ve been unwilling to make thus far.
However, with next-gen consoles bringing massive leaps in processing power, we could see the return of local multiplayer sooner rather than later. The vocal fan demand also shows no signs of dying down.
Other modern racing franchises like Dirt 5 and Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered have included splitscreen with strong success. So there‘s plenty of evidence that couch play still brings racing games to life for many gamers today.
In an interview last year, Playground representatives did hint that splitscreen may be on the roadmap down the line. My prediction is that we‘ll finally see this beloved feature make a comeback in either Forza Horizon 6 or Horizon 7. Fingers crossed console hardware advancements make it feasible by then!
Does Forza Horizon 4 Have Any Local Multiplayer Options?
Since traditional splitscreen is sadly off the table, what multiplayer options exist for playing FH4 in the same room as a friend? Let‘s quickly go over some creative "workarounds" the community has found:
Online co-op campaign – You can each play on separate TVs/monitors while grouped together online. Progress is synchronized so you‘re still tackling races as a team. Latency can be an issue though.
Taking turns – Pass around the controller after each event. Not exactly thrilling, but lets everyone test their skills.
Screen sharing apps – Tools like Parsec add online-powered local co-op by mirroring one player‘s screen to another. Extra hardware/software needed.
As you can see, none of these solutions truly capture the magic of a native side-by-side splitscreen experience. But they do allow for some in-person competition…even if there‘s clearly still room for improvement!
The Long and Winding Road to Splitscreen Paradise
Forza Horizon‘s rocky relationship with local multiplayer has been a sore spot for fans hoping to enjoy racing together in-person with friends and family. While online play provides plenty of connectivity, couch play fills a social and competitive niche that simply can‘t be replicated any other way.
Hopefully the developers hear the community‘s passionate feedback and trust that splitscreen racing is still a beloved pastime for today‘s gamers. I remain optimistic that with continued advocacy from fans and advancing hardware capabilities, splitscreen will eventually make its triumphant comeback! We can only keep our fingers crossed for Forza Horizon 6 or 7 to finally deliver the long-awaited return of shared-screen festival fun.
