Forza Motorsport Is No More, Says Former Turn 10 Dev After Massive Xbox Layoffs

It seems that Forza Motorsport, a popular racing series, may no longer be produced. A former employee from Turn 10 Studios, its creators, has reported that the team has been disbanded. This information follows Microsoft’s decision to let go of numerous employees across the company, with a significant number affecting the Xbox division.

Fred Russell, who was a content coordinator at Turn 10 Studios until 2016, took to Facebook to reminisce about his experience with the studio. Alongside some exclusive photos, he posted: “Turn 10 Studios has closed down its Forza Motorsport division, and the team no longer exists. It’s a sad day for one of the top car racing video games. I truly enjoyed my time there.

He further mentioned in the comments that “Forza Horizon is set to carry on from here,” and subsequently stated that the team “closed down the Forza Motorsport division exclusively.

Microsoft hasn’t given an official update on the future of Turn 10 Studios or the Forza Motorsport series as of now. However, Russell’s remarks, coupled with posts from other employees, seem to suggest a rather bleak outlook. Eurogamer has contacted Microsoft for additional details.

Additionally, some former employees from Turn 10 Studios have expressed their thoughts following the recent layoffs. One of these individuals is John Schommer, who had been with the company for more than a decade. On Russell’s post, he commented: “I am deeply grateful for the ten years I was given the opportunity to represent this brand and its passionate automobile enthusiast community.

According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, roughly half of Turn 10 Studios’ workforce was let go as part of a significant wave of job losses totaling approximately 9,000 employees across Microsoft Corporation.

This covers teams at ZeniMax, King, as well as other Xbox studios such as Rare and 343 Industries. Microsoft has also shelved several games, among them Perfect Dark, Everwild, and an undisclosed MMO from ZeniMax Online.

The Forza Motorsport franchise made its debut in 2005 on the original Xbox as Microsoft’s response to Sony’s Gran Turismo. It emphasized realistic driving and simulation racing experiences. Over time, it spawned multiple sequels, but it eventually took a back seat to Forza Horizon, the more laid-back and open-world racing offshoot developed by Playground Games.

It’s worth noting that the Playground Games team is still active and has been working on the upcoming Fable game, but its release has been postponed until 2026. For the moment, it appears they will continue their work on the Horizon series, while there might be some uncertainty regarding the future of Motorsport.

It appears that things within the Xbox team aren’t going so well at the moment. A developer expressed their frustration to Engadget over the way leadership handled the layoffs, finding it particularly upsetting given that they were informed it was Xbox’s most financially successful year yet. In their words, “I’m really angry that Phil’s email to us boasted about this being the most profitable year ever for Xbox while simultaneously implementing these cuts.

Microsoft is dedicating greater resources to artificial intelligence (AI) recently. At a recent gathering, CEO Satya Nadella revealed that around 30% of their coding work is now done by AI. Furthermore, reports suggest that the company is making significant efforts to automate certain roles using AI tools. Some employees speculate that this transition may be linked to the recent job reductions.

workers at Xbox who were let go are now sharing their experiences on the internet, with this most recent reduction in staff being part of a series that began in 2023 and continued into early 2024. Studios such as Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog Games had already closed down prior to these events.

Despite an increase in Xbox’s revenue, the company has not hesitated to reduce teams and cancel games. The potential cancellation of Forza Motorsport is yet another significant blow to the devoted fanbase who have come to appreciate Xbox’s robust collection of first-party titles.

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2025-07-05 12:44