Microsoft Game Studios

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Lore & Background

Microsoft Game Studios established Turn 10 Studios in 2001 to create a racing series that would showcase the technological capabilities of the original Xbox, including its Xbox Live online multiplayer network. From the start, Turn 10's approach was to broaden the series' appeal to the general audience and not limit it to racing enthusiasts, passionately highlighting car culture. The first Forza Motorsport was released on May 3, 2005, featuring 231 cars and racetracks from 15 real-world and fictional locations. It established common elements for future titles including effects of damage on car performance, a paint job and decal editor, the ability to tune cars and purchase upgrades using in-game credits, and assist functions that make driving easier at the cost of bonus end-of-race credits. The franchise has sold over 14 million copies as of December 2016 (though this figure is outdated and may be disputed) and has garnered critical acclaim.

In Their Own Story

At E3 2010, Playground Games founders Gavin Raeburn, Trevor Williams, and Ralph Fulton offered Turn 10 a concept of an open-world Forza Motorsport in exchange for resources, to which Turn 10 agreed. Playground then developed what was to become Forza Horizon, collaborating with and closely backed by Turn 10. Playground Games had had a strong relationship as a third-party developer with Microsoft Studios, but it was only in a June 10 conference at E3 2018 that the company announced its acquisition by Microsoft. In 2025, Forza Horizon 5 was announced and slated for release on Sony's PlayStation 5 console in Q1/Q2 2025 as part of Microsoft Gaming's ongoing plans to distribute their first-party library on multiple platforms, marking the first time the franchise has shipped on a non-Xbox console.

Reader's Guide

Until 2019, each installment of the franchise series had alternated on a biennial basis; the Motorsport entries were released in odd-numbered years, while the Horizon entries were released in even-numbered years. This pattern was altered due to the absence of a new Motorsport game in 2019. In July 2025, Turn 10 Studios was reported to have lost almost half of its then-current workforce amidst layoffs being conducted at Microsoft Gaming ahead of the new financial year. Shortly thereafter, reports anticipated that the developer would be reorganized into a support studio for future Forza Horizon entries. This was later confirmed in a blog post by Turn 10 Studios in December 2025, which announced that Forza Motorsport would receive no further content updates, though its servers would remain active. Microsoft Gaming leadership has clarified that the Forza Motorsport franchise remains a parked asset rather than a discontinued one, leaving the series long-term future open for future strategic re-engagement.

Did You Know?

• Turn 10 Studios was established in 2001 by Microsoft under its Microsoft Game Studios division to develop a series of racing games as the Xbox rival to Gran Turismo for PlayStation.
• Drivatars, a portmanteau of driver and avatar, were introduced in Forza Motorsport 5 and are an artificial neural network used by AI racers in subsequent titles.
• ForzaTech is the proprietary video game engine created by Turn 10 Studios, trademarked by Microsoft in 2015, and has since been used to develop current Forza games; it is also being used for the upcoming Fable reboot, wh
• Forza Motorsport 3, released on October 27, 2009, launched with 416 cars from 57 manufacturers.
• In 2025, Forza Horizon 5 was announced for release on Sony's PlayStation 5 console, marking the first time the franchise has shipped on a non-Xbox console.