Forza founder Dan Greenawalt retires from Microsoft after 27 years

Dan Greenawalt, who founded Turn 10 Studios and led Forza for two decades, is retiring from Microsoft after 27 years. The Verge reported the news on October 30 from an internal memo by Playground Games studio head Trevor Williams, which said Greenawalt decided this was "the right time for him to retire from Microsoft."

A career that built Xbox racing

Williams' memo traced Greenawalt's run from shipping Project Gotham Racing on the original Xbox in 2001 to creating Forza and founding Turn 10. It also nodded to his many Xbox E3 appearances, where he often arrived alongside a supercar. Forza Motorsport became one of Microsoft's signature series under his watch, and its sim-focused handling set it apart from the open-world Forza Horizon games Playground makes.

Why now

The exit follows Microsoft's decision to fold Turn 10 into Playground Games as part of the Xbox restructuring that brought around 3,200 layoffs and four studio closures this year. The combined team now works across both Forza and Fable. Turn 10's last full release was the 2023 Forza Motorsport reboot, a track racer that drew praise for its driving and later got a car progression overhaul.

Turn 10 had already been hit hard. Earlier cuts led a former employee to claim Forza Motorsport was finished, and Microsoft responded that it would keep supporting both Motorsport and Forza Horizon 5. With the studio's founder gone and its staff now part of Playground, it is hard to see Motorsport getting a big new entry soon.

What it means for Forza players

Forza Motorsport is still playable on Xbox and PC, and nothing in the memo changes current support. Fans of the track side should watch for how Playground treats the Motorsport brand alongside Horizon and Fable. Greenawalt has not said what he will do next, and Williams' memo wished him well for whatever comes after.

Source: Eurogamer; The Verge.