Xbox confirmed that it is merging Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios, both of which respectively worked on the Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport franchises, into one single development studio. The move came amid Microsoft’s continuing efforts to restructure Xbox and its subsidiary studios across the board.
On September 22, Xbox confirmed that it laid off hundreds of staff members at Halo Studios and other first-party development teams. The company additionally stated that development of the next Halo game would be handled by a new team within Activision, independent of the studio’s ongoing Call of Duty developments. Halo Studios will still house a small team that will be responsible for supporting the franchise’s current games, such as Halo: Campaign Evolved. Following the layoffs, Xbox stated it was roughly three-quarters of the way through its restructuring process.
Playground Games and Turn 10 Have Formally Merged
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As part of a slew of announcements that saw other Xbox studios consolidated into larger teams, the two studios behind different parts of the Forza franchise will now become one cohesive unit. The Redmond-based Turn 10 Studios will work together with the English studio Playground Games moving forward. Xbox executive Matt Booty stated in an internal memo that the two teams will be focused on continued development of the Forza and Fable franchises. Given that each studio has historically been in charge of the Forza series via Turn 10’s Forza Motorsport and Playground’s Forza Horizon, the changes will see each studio work as one team. However, it is currently unknown if the new studio will gain a new name as part of the merger, so fans must wait for more information.
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The merger came four months after Playground Games released Forza Horizon 6 to critical acclaim. Since then, the game has received five major content updates, with the game’s British Automotive update adding a new Drift Attack game mode and four new cars for players to collect. As the British Automotive update started rolling out, Playground Games stated that the PS5 version of Forza Horizon 6 was on track to arrive by the end of 2026. Although Xbox has shifted toward console exclusivity with some of its first-party titles, the company stated that exclusivity would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
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In July 2025, Turn 10 faced a round of layoffs as part of Microsoft’s company-wide job cuts that affected approximately 9,000 staff members around the globe at the time. Additionally, Turn 10’s previous contribution to the Forza franchise was the 2023 release of Forza Motorsport on PC and Xbox Series X/S. Forza Motorsport went into maintenance mode following a December 2025 update, meaning that no new tracks or vehicles will be added to the game. Instead, it will receive patches that roll out previously-released tours and cars, along with bug fixes to address any issues that crop up.
Given that Playground Games is also developing the immersive 2027 Fable reboot, it’s likely that Turn 10 will assist in finishing the game. With a new Xbox console generation on the horizon, it remains to be seen what moves Microsoft will continue to make within its gaming division.
- Released
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May 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone / Mild Lyrics, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Publisher(s)
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Xbox Game Studios
