Microsoft's Forza Motorsport and Horizon 5 to be supported despite Turn 10 Studios layoffs

Microsoft has assured the Forza fan base that its flagship racing games, Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon 5, will continue to receive support and updates amid concerns following widespread layoffs at Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios division, including Turn 10 Studios.

The company addressed the Forza player base via an X post on the official Forza Motorsport account:

“Dear Forza Community, we know that many of you have questions about what’s next for the Forza franchise, and we appreciate the support of our incredible community. We want to assure players that Turn 10 and Playground Games will continue to support Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon 5.”

It’s worth noting that this statement was made after the player base began sharing concerns about the future of the Forza series, following the official Forza Motorsport account’s silence from June 30th onwards. Furthermore, reports surfaced that nearly half of Turn 10 Studios, the studio that spearheads Forza Motorsport titles, were laid off.

These assurances follow a rocky July 2025 period at Microsoft’s gaming divisions, which saw major layoffs affecting multiple studios and approximately 9,000 employees globally, as part of a broader restructuring program. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that Call of Duty’s support studio, Raven Software, faced layoffs, along with 50% of Turn 10 staff being let go.

These cuts also affected other teams, including Sledgehammer Games, High Moon Studios, and King’s mobile division, where approximately 200 staff members were removed.

Turn 10 Studios drew more attention following the day of layoffs on July 3, when former content coordinator Fred Russell posted on Facebook and stated that the team behind Forza Motorsport was “no more” and that the studio had “shuttered the Forza Motorsport space.” Russell stated that it was “a very sad day for one of the best car racing video games.

Russell further indicated that the remaining staff at Turn 10 would shift their focus to collaborating with Playground Games on the development of Forza Horizon 6, which is expected to release sometime in 2026.

In response to Russell’s post, former designer at Turn 10 Studios, Chris Harding, claimed that “120 people” had been laid off from the Forza Motorsport team. It is important to note, however, that this figure hasn’t officially been corroborated by Microsoft.