Forza Motorsport Dev Team Hit Heavy By Microsoft Job Cuts

It’s been a pretty grim read for anyone with an interest in the gaming industry this morning. Microsoft confirmed yesterday that it would be laying off as many as 9100 of its employees, with its Xbox division hit heavily among those.

70 of those losses include roles at the developer behind Forza Motorsport, Turn 10 Studios, according to The Verge.

It’s unclear exactly which positions at the studio have been affected, and Microsoft has yet to make a public comment. However, it’s reported that the ‘vast majority’ of Turn 10 has been made redundant, although with enough staff onboard to keep Forza ‘up and running’.

It remains to be seen how that will affect future content for the game. It seems likely that May’s addition of Fujimi Kaido could prove the current title’s last major addition, depending on any plans that may have been in place prior to the job cuts. It also brings a major question mark over the future of the series itself, with Turn 10 working exclusively on the series since its inception in 2001.

There’s been nothing to suggest at this stage that the team behind Forza Horizon, Playground Games, has been hit by the layoffs. We know much of the studio is working away on a new Fable title, while a new Forza has been confirmed for 2026 – presumably Horizon 6.

Other developers hit hard by Microsoft’s cuts include the total shutdown of The Initiative, which had been working away on the reboot of Project Dark, as well as the closure of ZeniMax Online studios, leading to the cancellation of an unannounced MMO.

It comes amid a grim time for the gaming industry as a whole. Closer to home for those of us leaning towards racing games, EA Sports recently confirmed Codemasters would no longer be producing rally games, with redundancies following.