Recent claims suggest Microsoft has laid off around 120 people from Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios, effectively ending the franchise’s main series and marking the end of an era for Xbox. The original Forza Motorsport was released in 2005 for the original Xbox and earned widespread critical acclaim at the time of its launch. Built as a competitor to PlayStation’s Gran Turismo series, the original Forza Motorsport was a huge success and spawned one of Xbox’s flagship franchises.
Forza Motorsport was followed by three direct sequels on Xbox 360, all of which earned similar praise as the OG. Forza Motorsport 5 was a launch title for the Xbox One and earned mostly positive reviews, but wasn’t praised nearly as much as its predecessors. 6 and 7 were a bit better-received than 5, but still a far cry from the franchise’s heights. 2023’s Forza Motorsport found itself in a similar boat, but it did manage to win multiple awards at The Game Awards 2023, including Best Sports/Racing Game and Innovation in Accessibility. Beyond the main series, Forza also spawned multiple spin-offs, including the wildly successful Forza Horizon sub-series of open-world racing games and the now-defunct mobile titles Forza Street and Forza Customs.
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Moving forward, it seems Forza fans will only be able to count on new Forza Horizon games. The recent Microsoft layoffs have reportedly hit Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios particularly hard, with former employee Chris Harding claiming that around 120 people have been laid off, as reported by IGN. Another former Turn 10 employee, Fred Russell, has added that Turn 10 is now effectively a support studio for the Forza Horizon sub-series by Playground Games. Assuming these claims are accurate, it seems the more serious, simulation-focused racing game series Forza Motorsport is done, though Forza Horizon will live on. With Forza Motorsport being one of Xbox’s key series since 2005, this marks a sad end of an era for the brand.
Forza Motorsport Team Reportedly Reduced to Support Studio
It’s certainly depressing to see the Forza Motorsport series seemingly end because of the devastating Microsoft layoffs. Fans of the franchise will have to be satisfied with Forza Horizon, which has, admittedly, been more popular than the main series installments for quite some time. Still, there are those that don’t care for Horizon‘s open-world elements and prefer more straightforward racing sims. Those individuals are out of luck on Xbox unless Sony decides to port Gran Turismo over.
We know that the next Forza game will be launching at some point in 2026. It will presumably be Forza Horizon 6, developed by Playground Games with support from what remains of Turn 10 Studios. Recent comments by Head of Xbox Phil Spencer during the Xbox Games Showcase underline the company’s intention to deliver its four core franchises next year in the form of Forza, the rumored Halo 1 remake, Gears of War: E-Day, and the long-awaited new Fable game, itself also developed by Playground Games. Hopefully these titles all make it across the finish line and don’t wind up on the cutting room floor.