Microsoft is uniting its two Forza developers into a single studio today, as part of a massive 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.
“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 today’s changes will formally move their work into one team.”
The closure of Turn 10 Studios leaves big unanswered questions around the future of Forza Motorsport, and whether Microsoft will ever return to the franchise or simply focus on Forza Horizon instead.
More than 70 people at Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios were laid off last year, 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.
The Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios changes are part of a larger reorganization of Xbox today. Activision is taking on the Halo franchise, alongside Sea of Thieves developers Rare and World’s Edge, the studio responsible for Age of Empires. You can read more about the latest Xbox shake-up right here.