Dan Greenawalt, the head of Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios and one of the founders of the Forza series, is retiring from Microsoft after about 27 years. His exit follows Microsoft’s decision in September to fold Turn 10 into Forza Horizon studio Playground Games, which now runs as one studio with sites in Leamington Spa, UK, and Redmond, US.
The news comes from an internal memo by Playground Games studio head Trevor Williams, which The Verge’s Tom Warren reported in his Notepad newsletter on October 29. Pure Xbox and Shacknews have since covered the same memo. Microsoft has not published a separate public statement on Greenawalt’s retirement.
Forza Motorsport (2023), the eighth Motorsport game, is now in maintenance mode. Image: Microsoft / Turn 10 Studios
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What the memo says about Dan Greenawalt
According to The Verge, Williams wrote that “Dan Greenawalt has decided that this is the right time for him to retire from Microsoft.” Greenawalt will not leave straight away: he stays on as an adviser to Williams and to Playground’s newly appointed chief operating officer, Michel Bastien, “while he transitions to his next phase.” The memo, as reported, gives no final leaving date.
Williams credited Greenawalt with “shipping Project Gotham Racing on the original XBOX in 2001” and “leading the creation of Forza, founding Turn 10 Studios.” He added: “On behalf of both teams, I would like to thank Dan for his leadership, his support, and his partnership. I wish him well for whatever comes next.”
Turn 10 and Playground Games merger: what changed
The studio merger itself is official. In a September 22 memo published on Xbox Wire, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty wrote: “Playground and Turn 10 will come together as one studio focused on the Forza and Fable franchises. 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.”
The Verge reports that the combined company is now simply Playground Games, with two locations: Playground Games Leamington Spa and Playground Games Redmond, the former Turn 10 team near Microsoft’s headquarters. Playground’s own website now describes the studio as “based in Leamington Spa, UK and Redmond, US.”
| Item | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who is leaving | Dan Greenawalt, head of Turn 10 Studios, retiring after about 27 years | Trevor Williams memo via The Verge |
| When | Reported Oct 29, 2026; stays on as an adviser during the transition, no end date given | The Verge |
| Studio merger | Turn 10 joined Playground Games; announced Sep 22, 2026 | Xbox Wire |
| Studio focus | Forza and Fable franchises | Xbox Wire |
| Forza Motorsport (2023) | Servers stay online; no new cars, tracks, features or regular bug fixes planned | Forza.net, Dec 2025 |
| Forza Horizon 6 | Out since May 19, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S and PC; PS5 version still to come | Forza.net |
What happens to Forza Motorsport?
Microsoft has not announced a new Forza Motorsport game, and nothing official says the series has ended either. The last official word on the 2023 game came in Turn 10’s 2025 Forza Year in Review post in December: “As our team shifts its focus toward delivering the best possible experience with Forza Horizon 6 in 2026, we do not plan to introduce new cars, tracks, features, or regular bug fixes for Forza Motorsport.” The same post promised to keep online servers active, host special events and bring back earlier Featured Tours and reward cars every month.
The Verge reports that the remaining Turn 10 staff have moved over to work on Forza Horizon and Fable, and says it is unclear whether Microsoft will return to Forza Motorsport.
Forza Horizon 6, set in Japan, is where former Turn 10 staff now work alongside Playground. Image: Microsoft / Playground Games
Part of a wider Xbox shake-up
Greenawalt’s retirement is the latest senior change during Xbox’s reset. Earlier this month Xbox chief operating officer Helen Chiang left Microsoft after three months in the role, and Microsoft is offering a voluntary exit package to around 60,000 employees, according to The Verge. The September memo that merged the Forza studios also cut 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party studios and central teams. On the business side, Xbox revenue fell 2% in Microsoft’s latest quarter. The Verge’s report of the Williams memo does not mention any new job cuts tied to Greenawalt’s exit.
For Forza players, the practical picture is unchanged for now: Forza Horizon 6 keeps getting updates from the merged Playground team, and Forza Motorsport stays online in maintenance mode. Fans of the older games can still find our Forza Horizon 5 vs The Crew Motorfest comparison in the archive.
What’s next
The open question is whether Playground’s Redmond team will ever return to track racing. The next scheduled Forza news is Forza Horizon 6’s PS5 release; we will update this story if Microsoft makes a public statement on Greenawalt’s exit or on the future of Forza Motorsport.
Sources: The Verge (Notepad, Oct 29), Xbox Wire, Sep 22, Pure Xbox, Shacknews, Forza.net Year in Review 2025, Forza.net FH6 launch post, Playground Games.
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Featured image: Microsoft / Turn 10 Studios
