Studio Consolidation
Microsoft is uniting its two Forza developers into a single studio, as part of a restructuring of Xbox. Playground Games, which develops Forza Horizon, and Turn 10 Studios, creators of Forza Motorsport, are merging together to focus on Forza Horizon and Fable.
Xbox is merging its Forza developers into a single studio
Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios staff will now focus on Forza Horizon and Fable together.
Leadership Memo
Playground and Turn 10 will come together as one studio focused on the Forza and Fable franchises, explains Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty in a memo. These two studios have been technological, creative, and franchise partners for over a decade, and these changes will formally move their work into one team.
Forza Motorsport Future
The closure of Turn 10 Studios leaves unanswered questions around the future of Forza Motorsport, and whether Microsoft will return to the franchise or focus on Forza Horizon instead.
Staff Reorganization
More than 70 people at Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios were laid off previously, in a move that hit the vast majority of the studio. Over the past year, Turn 10 Studios has essentially been maintaining Forza Motorsport, and now those who remain will be moving over to Playground Games to work on Forza Horizon and Fable.
Broader Xbox Shake-Up
The Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios changes are part of a larger reorganization of Xbox. Activision is taking on the Halo franchise, alongside Sea of Thieves developers Rare and World’s Edge, the studio responsible for Age of Empires.
