WORLDTECHForza Motorsport Head Dan Greenwalt Retires After Turn 10 Merger
Dan Greenwalt, who led Turn 10 Studios for 27 years, is retiring from Microsoft following the merger of Turn 10 and Playground Games, according to an internal email reported by The Verge.
Retirement follows studio merger
The departure comes after Microsoft folded Turn 10 and Playground Games into a single studio as part of a late-September restructuring that also saw Activision take over the Halo franchise. Observers quoted in the reporting viewed the merger as a decisive blow to the Forza Motorsport franchise.
An internal email, which TechPowerUp reports was covered first by The Verge, announced that Greenwalt had decided the moment was right to step away from the company after his long tenure.
Advisory role for Greenwalt
In a separate memo, Trevor Williams, head of Playground Games, said Greenwalt would remain involved in some capacity as an advisor to Williams and to Playground Games COO Michel Bastien.
The reporting places the changes against a backdrop of heavy layoffs at Xbox this year. Asha Sharma's Xbox Reset plans have hit some game studios harder than others, and the future of many staff members at the company is described as uncertain.
Open questions
- What role will Greenwalt hold as an advisor, and for how long?
- Which Forza Motorsport plans will the combined studio pursue?