Forza Motorsport “Dead”? Former Developer Drops Bombshell after Microsoft Layoffs

Forza Motorsport 2023 didn’t exactly come out of the gates smoothly. While the sim enthusiasts got what they wanted—stunning visuals, real-time ray tracing, and tight racing lines—the game felt half-assembled. So when a former Turn 10 Studios developer casually mentioned on LinkedIn that “Forza Motorsport is no more”, some racing fans were like, “Well, yeah… Not surprised.”

But wait—this wasn’t just one annoyed dev mumbling on social media. The comment came after a massive wave of Microsoft layoffs that swept up Turn 10 and several other Xbox Game Studios. As reported by Eurogamer, the ex-employee’s post hinted that the studio’s flagship title might’ve crossed the finish line—for good.

Forza Motorsport 2023: A Rocky Restart for the Racing Titan

First, a bit of context. Forza Motorsport 2023 was supposed to be a reset button for the franchise, ditching the sequential titles and simply going by “Forza Motorsport.” That’s like calling your new baby “Baby” and expecting it to reinvent what it means to exist.

And sure, it looked clean. Photo mode-worthy cars? Check. Detailed tyre wear simulation? Yep. But underneath the polish, the game launched with barebones content. No career depth. Limited tracks. Multiplayer that felt like an afterthought. And the update rollout is slower than a novice driver stuck in gear three.

So by the time Microsoft’s gaming division started swinging the layoff axe in early 2024, it’s safe to say the excitement around Forza was already running low on fuel. Enter a disgruntled developer, and now you’ve got talk that the entire racing sim might’ve been hauled off the circuit.

Microsoft’s Cuts Hit Turn 10—Harder Than You Think

Let’s not pretend this is a one-game issue. In January, Microsoft axed roughly 1,900 jobs across Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard. Yeah, even after shelling out billions for these companies, the layoffs still came swinging. While most of the headlines focused on Blizzard’s project cancellations, including a highly anticipated survival game, those cuts didn’t spare Turn 10, the studio behind all things Forza Motorsport. And with fewer devs in the driver’s seat, it’s easy to understand why updates and fixes have become painfully slow.

That same ex-Turn 10 developers who posted about the project are “no more”, also confirmed they’d worked on live services within the game, exactly the sort of infrastructure that needs constant TLC. You axe those devs, and live updates take a hit. Folks in the community started seeing features delayed, patches postponed, and radio silence from the studio.

Where Does That Leave Forza Fans (and Xbox Racing Games)?

There’s been no official word from Microsoft or Turn 10 Studios confirming whether Forza Motorsport has actually been canned. So before you fire up your Xbox Series X and delete Forza in a dramatic fit, know this: it’s probably not technically dead… yet.

But you don’t need to be Lewis Hamilton to see the skid marks. If the team behind the game has been gutted, and the pace of updates is crawling, then it raises a tough question: Is Forza over? And if so, what does Xbox have left in the racing sim space? After all, Gran Turismo is racing circles around Forza lately, with better career depth and a more consistent dev roadmap. Meanwhile, players are left wondering whether Microsoft’s racing franchise is secretly being mothballed while the company focuses on bigger IPs—or if future Forza plans are just being restructured entirely.

The Bigger Picture: Racing Sim Franchises on Edge

Racing simulation Xbox fans don’t have dozens of AAA options these days. Forza and Gran Turismo are the big boys in the room, with Assetto Corsa and iRacing holding the hardcore PC crown. So when one of those giants teeters, it sends ripples through the whole sim racing community.

Could we see a pivot into more arcade-y experiences for Xbox? Doubtful. Forza Horizon still cruises strong thanks to its open-world flavour and more relaxed gameplay, but it can’t exactly fill the motorsport void. Motorsport fans thrive on precision, handling, and shaving off 0.002 seconds on lap times like it’s the Olympics.

So if Motorsport’s not getting fresh content drops or developer love anytime soon, players have few alternatives within the Xbox ecosystem. No wonder Reddit and Discord are filled with threads speculating about cancelled seasons, abandoned features, and that awkward “Launch Year” tag still glaring at them in the game’s menu. Yeah, it ain’t looking good.

Time to Look in the Rearview?

Whether you believe the former dev or not, the writing on the wall—or at least the cracks in the tarmac are showing. With Microsoft focused on consolidation and restructuring, Turn 10 may not be burning rubber again for a while. And that leaves fans with a disheartening prospect: We’ll keep watching the rearview mirror for any signs of life from Turn 10—or that Microsoft is steering this franchise somewhere new. But until then, it might be time to relearn Gran Turismo’s physics system. Sorry.