Forza Motorsport isn't dead yet, says Microsoft, though concerns remain
However, a new Forza game isn't in sight
💀 Microsoft has attempted to reassure fans that its Forza series of racing games isn’t dead yet
🗣️ Microsoft said in a statement that "Turn 10 and Playground Games will continue to support Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon 5"
😬 The news has done little to reassure fans after reports of major cuts at Turn 10, and no concrete commitment to any further games
Microsoft recently laid off a further 9000 people, which severely affected the Xbox gaming division
Microsoft has attempted to reassure Forza fans that the series, which has been around since the original Xbox, isn’t dead.
In a post on X from the Forza Motorsport account, Microsoft stated it wanted to assure "players that Turn 10 and Playground Games will continue to support Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon 5".
The post then links to a webpage that details the latest additions to the Tours section in Forza Motorsport's Career Mode, plus their respective challenges. However, it doesn't elaborate further on what's happened to either Turn 10 or Playground Games, or the future of either series.
As has been noted, Microsoft’s statement doesn’t commit to any future games, such as another Motorsport or Horizon.
It had been reported that, because of Microsoft's latest round of layoffs that severely impacted the Xbox gaming divisions, Forza Motorsport was "no more" according to a former Turn 10 employee, although the open-world Horizon series would continue.
Cuts, cuts and more cuts
According to an article in The Verge, Microsoft had cut around half the staff at Turn 10 – around 70 people – with just enough left to keep the Motorsport title ticking over.
The total number of people Microsoft let go amounted to around 9000 people, or four percent of its global workforce. The cuts affected every sector of its business that spanned various "levels, teams, geographies and tenure", according to Windows Central.
The most recent layoffs are not the first to have affected Microsoft staff this year. Reductions took place in both January and May 2025, which, combined with the aforementioned July round of layoffs, took the total reduction in headcount to 15,300 people, or 6.7% of Microsoft's global workforce.
Microsoft also announced the cancellation of several high-profile Xbox games, including Perfect Dark and Everwild. It’s since come to light that Contraband has also been shelved.
Ironically, Forza Horizon 5 has been a runaway success for Microsoft since it ported the game to PS5 last April. It's been the highest-selling PS5 game of 2025 so far, shifting over three million copies.
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.