Between Everwild and Perfect Dark allegedly being cancelled, reports of layoffs at Microsoft’s Gaming Division and subsidiaries continue to roll in. Turn 10 Studios (Forza Motorsport) is the latest after last week’s rumors of cuts. One source told Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier that “nearly 50 percent of staff” has been laid off.
He also notes that Call of Duty developers, like Raven Software, have faced layoffs. It’s apparently not the only one with Insider Gaming reporting layoffs at Sledgehammer Games as well. The latter last worked on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s universally panned campaign (though it allegedly started as Modern Warfare 2 DLC before a reboot). Raven is currently co-developing Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 alongside Treyarch. It’s launching later this year, with a full reveal planned for the Summer.
As for Turn 10 Studios, the report casts significant doubt on the future of Forza Motorsport. The 2023 reboot faced immense backlash from fans, but it’s received numerous updates to improve progression and add new content. With a new Forza title coming next year, it could be a follow-up to Playground Games’ successful Forza Horizon 5.
