Turn 10 Studios is now Playground Games Redmond

Turn 10 Studios founder Dan Greenawalt is retiring from Microsoft after 27 years. The Forza Motorsport studio has merged into Playground Games and now goes by Playground Games Redmond.

The news comes from an internal memo seen by The Verge, and Microsoft hasn't made a public announcement. The merger itself, however, was announced on Xbox Wire in September.

What happened to Turn 10 Studios?

As Cloudy recaps, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty wrote on Xbox Wire last month that "Playground and Turn 10 will come together as one studio focused on the Forza and Fable franchises." Eurogamer places the move within Xbox's mass restructuring earlier this year, which brought 3,200 layoffs and four studio closures.

According to The Verge, the merged studio is simply called Playground Games, and it has two locations:

The remaining Turn 10 staff now work on the Forza Horizon series, including Forza Horizon 6, and on Fable. In other words, the Redmond team is helping on Playground's games rather than building its own track racer.

Who is Dan Greenawalt?

Greenawalt has been one of the key figures behind Xbox's racing games. Pure Xbox notes that he shipped Project Gotham Racing on the original Xbox in 2001, then led the creation of Forza, founded Turn 10 Studios and published eight racing games.

"Dan Greenawalt has decided that this is the right time for him to retire from Microsoft," Playground Games studio head Trevor Williams wrote in the memo. "It's hard to overstate Dan's impact over the past 27 years," he added, recalling Greenawalt's E3 appearances, "usually making a dramatic entrance with a supercar in tow."

Is Greenawalt leaving right away?

No. Shacknews and Cloudy report that he will stay on for a period as an adviser to Williams and to Michel Bastien, Playground's newly appointed chief operating officer, before formally leaving the company.

What does this mean for Forza Motorsport?

There's no clear answer yet. Cloudy notes that Turn 10 laid off more than 70 people last year, which The Verge says hit the vast majority of the studio. Since then, the remaining team has essentially been maintaining Forza Motorsport.

Eurogamer points out that 2023's Forza Motorsport reboot was the last track racer before the merger, and Pure Xbox suspects it could be the final entry in the series. Microsoft, however, hasn't said anything official, so that remains speculation for now.

• Forza Motorsport release date: October 9, 2023 (Steam)
• Platforms: PC and Xbox Series X|S
• Developer: Turn 10; publisher: Xbox Game Studios

What changes for players?

Forza Motorsport is still on sale and playable, but there is no announced roadmap for new content or a sequel. Forza Horizon, on the other hand, gains a bigger team. Track racing fans will have to wait for Microsoft to say something official.

For more on Xbox's recent moves, read our story on Xbox revenue falling and the Metro Redux next-gen update.

Frequently asked questions

Has Turn 10 Studios closed?

Not exactly. Turn 10 has merged into Playground Games and, according to The Verge, now operates as Playground Games Redmond.

Why is Dan Greenawalt leaving?

According to an internal memo from Playground Games head Trevor Williams, Greenawalt decided it was the right time to retire from Microsoft. He will stay on as an adviser for a while.

Will there be a new Forza Motorsport game?

It's unclear. Microsoft has not said anything official about the series' future, and the former Turn 10 team now works on Forza Horizon and Fable.

Sources

• Pure Xbox: Turn 10 director departs Microsoft
• Eurogamer: Forza director leaves after 27 years
• Shacknews: Dan Greenawalt retiring
• Cloudy: Turn 10 boss Dan Greenawalt retires
• Steam: Forza Motorsport