Reliable sources point to an internal memo confirming his departure, while Playground Games’ Trevor Williams told IGN that Greenawalt was indeed stepping away from a career that has spanned twenty-seven years and several successful instalments in the Forza Motorsport franchise, where he has played a crucial role over the years.

The news comes amid a wider effort to put Xbox back on the map, which saw a merger between Playground and Turn 10, resulting in a lot of the latter’s team being relegated to supporting the latest Horizon title, which is reportedly doing quite well for itself. Greenawalt’s departure could be the final nail in the Motorsport franchise’s coffin, but we see no reason not to remain optimistic about a revival at some point in the future.

What that looks like without one of the franchise’s most impactful minds behind it remains a mystery, though, and Greenawalt will surely be missed by his colleagues and all the players who formed fond memories with the titles he helmed. As for Forza Horizon 6, it’s out on January 26th, 2027, for PS5 alongside its first paid expansion.

That means no new vehicles, tracks or features are planned according to Turn 10. In fact, it won’t even release regular bug fixes for Forza Motorsport. So what can players expect? On top of keeping servers active, the studio will continue “hosting special events and competitions, and reintroducing previously released Featured Tours and reward cars on a monthly basis, until all content is available for you to enjoy anytime.”

Aside from the underwhelming reception to Forza Motorsport, it’s pretty obvious why the team is shifting gears (no pun intended). It’s working with Playground Games on Forza Horizon 6, arriving next year for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Turn 10 is specifically responsible for the PS5 port arriving sometime after the other versions, so it makes sense to focus on the more important project.

Nevertheless, it’s a bittersweet end for Forza Motorsport, even if Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer insists that the series isn’t dead by any means.

Gears 5

The Gears series was always at the forefront of modern rendering techniques, and Gears 5 is obviously no different in that regard. Released in 2019, Gears 5 continues to impress with its gorgeous level of detail present in every aspect of the presentation, including but not limited to the environment, characters, and the sheer spectacle of the firefights on offer.

When asked by Famitsu (translated via Windows Central) if the franchise had been “cut off,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer responded, “No!” He then added, “As for Forza Motorsport, we sometimes have to shift our focus to games that will be released earlier. And I also understand that many people reacted when the scale of Turn 10 Studios was reduced.

“As far as we are concerned, there are many games that we would like to support carefully, and sometimes we give the development team a little more time so that they do not continue to be in a state of tension.”

Turn 10 Studios reportedly saw its headcount reduced by nearly 50 percent as part of Microsoft’s last wave of layoffs. It’s since become a support studio for Forza Horizon 6, working on the PlayStation 5 port of the open-world racer (launching sometime after Xbox Series X/S and PC). Whether Forza Motorsport can make a comeback remains to be seen, especially given the post-launch support of the Horizon series.

Time will tell, so stay tuned. Forza Horizon 6 releases in 2026, and after years of requests, it’s heading to Japan. It will feature the likes of Tokyo and Mt. Fuji, with the former offering one of the most “detailed and layered environments” that Playground Games has ever created.

The Track Toys Tour has been brought back to Forza Motorsport permanently, and with it, brings back a reward that players only had a chance to get when the tour was first available in the game – the 2019 Porsche #70 Porsche Motorsport 935.

Turn 10 has also confirmed that each month will see another Tour being brought to the game, with September 4 bringing with it the Ringer Tour. This cadence of Tour release will continue until all of the Featured Tours have been returned to Forza Motorsport.

These Tours were previously available on a temporary basis, and while many players had been unable to complete them when they were first available, the studio has stated that these players won’t lose their progress. If, for instance, you were halfway through completing the Ringer Tour, once the Featured Tour comes back in September, you will be able to pick things up right where you left off.

Turn 10 does point out that the rewards associated with the Featured Tours activity can only be earned once. This means that if you, for example, have already finished up the Track Toys Tour and got the Porsche in the past, completing it again will not reward you with a brand new one.

Along with the Featured Tours, new challenges will also be added to the Challenge Hub that will allow players to earn previous Open Class Tour rewards. These challenges are also slated for release at the same monthly cadence as the returning Featured Tours.

For players that might not be familiar with the Track Toys Tour, the Tour is split into four distinct series, with each one focusing on specific vehicles and their races. Series 1, for instance, is dubbed Ginetta Juniors and will have players race around in a 2019 Ginetta G40 Junior. Series 2, on the other hand, will have more options, including the 2016 Porsche Cayman GTS. Series 3 will spotlight the Caterham R500, and Series 4 will wrap things up with purpose-built track cars, like the 2019 Elemental RP1. Finishing all for Series will earn you the 2019 Porsche #70 Porsche Motorsport 935.

September’s Ringer Tour will focus on German-made cars, with its various series featuring vehicles like the BMW M-series cars, the Mercedes-AMG cars, and Audi sport cars, before wrapping things up with a showdown between different drivers behind the wheels of the Porsche 911. Completing the Ringer Tour will earn players the 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

Completing some of the new challenges being added to the Challenge Hub can earn players rewards like a 1974 Porsche $1 911 RSR and a 2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe.

“Turn 10 Studios has shuttered the Forza Motorsport space and the team is no more. A very sad day for one of the best car racing video games. I loved my time there,” wrote Russell in a post, as caught by Reddit user Fidler_2K. “The studio is open to support the Horizon side… shuttered the Forza Motorsport side only.”

With the ongoing turmoil at studios under Microsoft thanks to reported lay-offs and project cancellations, Turn 10 is noted to have been one of the worst-hit studios. According to reports, the studio behind the Forza Motorsport series lost around 50 percent of its workforce.

It is also worth noting that, while Forza Motorsport was essentially the mainline franchise in the Forza series of racing games, the Forza Horizon games have far overtaken the more simulation-centric Motorsport series in terms of player counts and popularity. The last major release in the Forza Motorsport series was back in 2023.

Forza Horizon, on the other hand, has been developed by Playground Games. The last title in that series was Forza Horizon 5 back in 2021. The Horizon series has traditionally focused on offering a mix of the sim racing foundations of its Motorsport counterpart, along with more arcade-styled gameplay that encouraged players to partake in some more fun and off-beat activities.

Leading up to Microsoft’s reported lay-offs, Turn 10 was said to have been “bracing for cuts” to its workforce. A report at the time indicated that there was a real risk of the entire studio being shuttered. This came about courtesy of 3D Realms founder George Broussard.

Interestingly, earlier in June, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer had confirmed that a new Forza title has been in the works and is slated for 2026. He had mentioned that Fable as well as Gears of War: E-Day would also be coming out in 2026. However, with all of the recent lay-offs, a studio closure, and several project cancellations, the company’s entire slate of future titles currently has a shadow cast over it.

Spencer also didn’t specifically confirm whether this Forza game would be from the Horizon series or the Motorsport series.

In the meantime, check out more details about the last Forza Motorsport game in our review.

He also notes that Call of Duty developers, like Raven Software, have faced layoffs. It’s apparently not the only one with Insider Gaming reporting layoffs at Sledgehammer Games as well. The latter last worked on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s universally panned campaign (though it allegedly started as Modern Warfare 2 DLC before a reboot). Raven is currently co-developing Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 alongside Treyarch. It’s launching later this year, with a full reveal planned for the Summer.

As for Turn 10 Studios, the report casts significant doubt on the future of Forza Motorsport. The 2023 reboot faced immense backlash from fans, but it’s received numerous updates to improve progression and add new content. With a new Forza title coming next year, it could be a follow-up to Playground Games’ successful Forza Horizon 5.

The report follows a Twitter post by 3D Realms founder and industry veteran George Broussard, who reported that “entire studios may be shuttered.” The layoffs will allegedly affect 1000 to 2000 people, which is about 10 to 20 percent of the Xbox division.

While Microsoft has yet to confirm impending cuts, it laid off three percent of employees across all departments worldwide earlier this year. There were also cuts last year following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with studios like Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, and Alpha Dog Games subsequently shuttered.

Cuts at Turn 10 Studios may sound odd, especially with a new Forza coming next year. However, after the disappointment of 2023’s Forza Motorsport, Microsoft could instead focus on the next Forza Horizon. Time will tell, so stay tuned for updates.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer did offer some updates, though. He reaffirmed during the showcase the launch of Fable for 2026 alongside Gears of War: E-Day (previously rumored) and the next Forza. There was also the tease of a classic that’s been with Xbox since the beginning making a return, which could be teasing the rumored Halo: Combat Evolved remake.

It doesn’t address the other missing titles, but the year is only half-done. What’s most interesting is Forza – Spencer didn’t specify whether this is a new Forza Horizon or a new Forza Motorsport. Time will tell, so stay tuned for more announcements and updates.

In the meantime, Xbox (and other platform) players can look forward to The Outer Worlds 2 on October 29th. Check out the latest trailer here.

“It’s almost 20 years since the release of the first Forza Motorsport game,” wrote the studio. “This moment was the beginning of a multi-decade journey to turn car lovers into gamers, and gamers into car lovers, one that would eventually lead us to the vibrant community we have today – a community driven by car passion, racing skills, competition and creativity.”

The 20th anniversary of the Forza Motorsport franchise will bring with it a major free update. While the studio hasn’t revealed exact details on what else we can expect from the update yet, it is giving us our first glimpse at what is considered a legendary track among the Forza Motorsport fan base.

“With less than two months until the 20th anniversary, today we are excited to share with you a preview of the content that will be available in Forza Motorsport as part of our May update, which includes the eagerly awaited return of a track considered truly legendary in the Forza community.”

The Forza Motorsport version of Fujimi Kaido will be 10.24 miles (16.5 km) in length, and will feature 144 extreme turns, as well as a 2,711-foot (826 meters) summit.

“Our goal is to recapture the magic of drifting with your friends on the massive stretches of serpentine Japanese mountain roads at Fujimi Kaido, and we can’t wait for you to slide sideways once again as we now work to refine and polish this Forza original track for integration into the game this May,” wrote the studio.

Along with Fujimi Kaido, the 20th anniversary update will also bring with more content, including “highly requested” cars, and new events in the Career and Featured Multiplayer modes. The update will also allow players to unlock new driver suits.

Far from the first time Turn 10 Studios has brought back a beloved race track in the game, August last year saw the release of Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the game as part of a free update. At the time, the update also brought along other improvements to its multiplayer modes, along with new events for Career Mode as well as online multiplayer.

More recently, Forza Motorsport got update 17, which brought with it improvements to the Rival select system, updated car audio for some of the cars, as well as new events that focused on specific cars. You can check out the full details of the update in our coverage from back in February.

Forza Motorsport is a racing game that focuses more on realistic driving than on the arcade-styled fast pace offered by its sister title Forza Horizon 5. The title is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S. For more details, check out our review from when the game was first released.