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Following reports that the Turn 10 studio had lost more than 70 staff members to Forza Horizon, Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft’s gaming division, came out to clarify the situation during an interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu at Tokyo Game Show 2025.
When asked if the Halo and Forza Motorsport series are dead, Spencer vehemently denied it, saying:
No! Halo Studios is planning for the future and taking on new challenges. We are committed to Unreal Engine 5 and new technologies and are committed to giving the team time to deliver the next great game.”
As for Forza Motorsport, his answer was more diplomatic:
“Sometimes we have to shift our focus to games that come out sooner. We understand the reactions after downsizing the Turn 10 team. We have many games we want to support, and sometimes we give development teams extra time to avoid pressure. Our current structure gives us that flexibility.
Spencer explained that Xbox Studios has more than 20 development teams, each working on different projects with varying levels of support:
“We have short-, medium- and long-term visions and we want our games to be successful in the long term. Stay tuned for more soon.
It is worth noting that Microsoft gave Turn 10 extra time to develop the last installment of the series, as Forza Motorsport (2023) took six years to develop, the longest period in the history of the series, which has been accustomed to close releases since 2005.
Despite the long wait, the game has not met expectations, especially compared to its more popular sister series Forza Horizon, which is poised to return next year with the long-awaited Japan map.
It looks like Forza Motorsport isn’t going away, but it’s already on a temporary hiatus while Xbox continues to restructure its studios in preparation for its next generation of games.
