A couple of days in the past, we discovered that Microsoft had gutted one among its longest-running studios, laying off roughly 50% of Flip 10, the stewards of Forza Motorsport. The writing was already on the wall, however now a former worker is alleging what we feared: Forza Motorsport is not any extra.
That’s in accordance with Fred Russel, a former content material creator at Flip 10. Now, earlier than we proceed, it must be stated that Russel hasn’t labored on the firm for round a decade, so scepticism is wholesome. It’s very doubtless he nonetheless has contacts on the studio who’ve fed him info, however who can know for certain?
Posting on his Fb web page, Russel stated “Flip 10 Studios has shuttered the Forza Motorsport house and the crew is not any extra. A really unhappy day for probably the greatest automotive racing video video games.”
Nevertheless, Russel was questioned by one other former worker of each Flip 10 and Playground Video games, Kayla Goullaud, who labored as a group supervisor. She requested Russel the place he had heard the data, stating: “I don’t consider the house is shuttered, neither is the studio closed.”
Russel replied, “the studio is open to help the Horizon aspect… shuttered the Forza Motorsport aspect solely.”
His phrases barely contradict his prior assertion of “the crew is not any extra.” Maybe, although, he merely meant that the core of what was Flip 10 is now gone.
Being a help studio implies the opposite 50% of the crew that was not laid off within the preliminary stories are certainly nonetheless employed and dealing, even perhaps nonetheless below the Flip 10 title, even when they’re now nothing greater than additional horsepower for the far more standard Forza Horizon sequence.
A fast flick by way of LinkedIn does reveal Flip 10 workers are nonetheless lively and posting about surviving the cull. Thus far, I haven’t seen something confirming what Flip 10’s position can be, however with such a large discount in workers it looks like a secure guess that one other Forza Motorsport gained’t be made by them. There’s a slim probability that Playground Video games might take it over, however they’re undoubtedly already very busy with Forza Horizon and the upcoming Fable. Certainly, Phil Spencer has hinted that each Forza and Fable will launch in 2026.
It’s additionally not clear whether or not the bodily Flip 10 house has been or is being closed, like Russel suggests, or if it can stay open. I think about will probably be closed, although, to additional scale back prices, until there isn’t sufficient house to maneuver the Flip 10 workers over to Playground Video games.
We can also’t rule out the likelihood that the surviving Flip 10 crew will proceed to replace and help Forza Motorsport, a recreation which was designed to be an ongoing live-service model title. If Microsoft didn’t see any worth in making a full sequel, then chopping the workers in half and persevering with with a small help crew makes chilly, laborious enterprise sense.
For now, although, we have no idea precisely why Flip 10 was hit so closely. In fact, the earlier Forza Motorsport appears the most certainly trigger. Whereas the prior video games launched each 2 years, Forza Motorsport took 6 years to launch, popping out in 2023 however launching in a state that followers weren’t joyful about. Solely in latest months with steady updates from the crew has participant sentiment appeared to actually flip round, with many individuals commenting that it took them 2 years to repair the sport.
In the meantime, the Forza Horizon video games have gone from energy to energy, gaining a a lot bigger participant base within the course of and even drifting over to PlayStation the place it seems to have executed nicely for itself.
