Microsoft Merges Forza’s Playground and Turn 10 Into a Single Studio Amid Xbox Reorganization

In a significant shake-up for Microsoft’s gaming division, Xbox has formally combined the two developers behind its flagship racing and fantasy franchises, Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios, into a single team. The move was announced as part of a broader reorganization of the Xbox gaming business, with the two studios—which have collaborated for over a decade on titles such as Forza Horizon and Fable—now consolidating their operations under one banner. The announcement comes alongside wider restructuring at the company, including job cuts across the division.

While Activision and Bethesda are set to expand their remit by absorbing several studios into their portfolios, Playground and Turn 10 were deliberately excluded from that consolidation. Instead of being folded into larger labels, the racing-focused pair are uniting with one another, marking a structural shift that reflects years of informal tag-teaming between the two houses.

A Decade of Tag-Teaming, Now Formalized

The merger builds on a long history of collaboration between the studios. Playground Games developed the first Forza Horizon game, which launched in 2012, and has since led the development of each entry in the franchise. The series gradually eclipsed the traditional Forza Motorsport line to become one of Xbox’s most prominent tentpole properties. Turn 10 Studios, established in 2001, has focused almost exclusively on the Motorsport series, delivering eight games in the franchise with a greater emphasis on sim-racing realism than Playground’s more arcade-inspired Horizon titles.

Playground’s latest entry, Forza Horizon 6, released earlier this year to positive reviews, while the studio is also slated to deliver a new chapter in the Fable series next year. Meanwhile, Turn 10’s most recent major effort, Forza Motorsport, launched in 2023 with ambitions of ushering in a new live-service era for the racing franchise.

“These two studios have been creative and franchise partners for over a decade, and today’s changes will formally move their work into one team.”

Matt Booty, Xbox Chief Creative Officer

Despite the optimistic framing from Xbox leadership, the announcement carries an undercurrent of uncertainty. The letter to employees does not address whether the merger will result in redundancies. However, the studio’s recent history suggests the possibility is real. Following a wave of layoffs in July 2025, Turn 10 announced it was ending development of new content for Forza Motorsport and had transitioned into a support role for Playground. The studio’s future direction remains a point of speculation within the community.

Broader Cuts and Community Reaction

The merger sits within a larger context of restructuring at Microsoft’s Xbox division. As part of a previously announced second wave of job cuts, 268 positions across Xbox are being made redundant. Given that mergers typically involve overlapping roles, it is not unreasonable to expect that some staff from both studios could be let go as the two teams integrate into a single unit.

The reaction from former employees has been candid. Fred Russell, a former Forza Motorsport content coordinator, did not mince his words following the July layoffs, stating that the team was “no more” and that the studio had effectively been shuttered. His comments underscore the turbulence that has surrounded the studio in recent months and raise questions about how the newly merged entity will be structured going forward.

For fans of the Forza franchise, the consolidation represents both an opportunity and a concern. On one hand, uniting the two studios under one team could streamline development and strengthen the franchise’s creative direction. On the other, the uncertainty surrounding staffing and the studio’s recent struggles with Forza Motorsport’s live-service ambitions leave players wondering what the future holds for the series.

Looking Ahead

As Playground and Turn 10 begin the process of becoming a single team, the focus will likely turn to how the merged studio will approach its upcoming projects, including the Fable chapter and any future iterations of the Forza franchise. The integration will also determine how resources are allocated across the studio’s portfolio, particularly given the challenges faced with Forza Motorsport’s live-service model.

While the structural details of the merger are still being worked out, one thing is clear: after years of operating as creative partners, Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios are now officially one team. How this new configuration plays out in the studio’s next projects will be a key story to watch in the coming months.

Written by Darryn Bonthuys, who has been covering video games since 2011 and joined GameSpot in 2020.