Forza creator Dan Greenawalt is retiring from Microsoft after 27 years

The face of Forza is stepping away. Dan Greenawalt, the longtime head of Turn 10 Studios, is retiring from Microsoft after about 27 years, according to an internal memo obtained by The Verge and reported by Shacknews.

”Dan Greenawalt has decided that this is the right time for him to retire from Microsoft,” the memo reads. He isn’t leaving right away: he’ll serve as an adviser to Playground Games’ new chief operating officer, Michel Bastien, before formally departing. Microsoft hasn’t made a separate public announcement.

Where Turn 10 stands

Greenawalt’s exit follows Xbox’s decision in September to merge Turn 10 into Forza Horizon developer Playground Games, along with substantial layoffs at Turn 10, Shacknews notes. Traxion reports that the merger effectively ended the Turn 10 name.

His history with Xbox racing goes back to 2001’s Project Gotham Racing, and Traxion says he worked in some capacity on every Forza game, starting as lead game designer on the 2005 original.

Microsoft hasn’t announced a new Forza Motorsport game, and it hasn’t said the series is over either.

PPR take: Forza Motorsport doesn’t exist without Greenawalt. With Turn 10 folded into Playground and no new Motorsport announced, it’s hard not to wonder what’s next for the circuit-racing side of Forza.