The Forza Motorsport reboot may have gotten some updates after it came out, but it didn’t quite meet fans’ expectations when it was first released. Now, an artist who was part of making the game has shared their experience, revealing tough times during development, like a lot of overtime and depending on temporary workers with short contracts.
A former Senior Environment Artist at Forza developer Turn 10 Studios, Adrian Campos recently shared his experience in a YouTube video (found by The Drive). He detailed the challenging conditions he faced during his contract period from June 2022 to October 2023. Campos was responsible for creating scenery around the racetracks. However, his workload significantly increased when another environment artist left just a month and a half into his contract.
The video itself is 16 minutes long and goes over a lot more than we mention here. It’s mostly personal details, but we’ve taken out some interesting parts to focus on regarding the development of Forza.
During the development, Microsoft hired and released contract artists multiple times. The pressure to deliver Turn 10’s goal of 20 environments for launch led to intense crunch periods, especially when working alone.
You are referring to the “18/6 Rule” mentioned by Campos. This policy limits contract workers to a maximum of 18 months, followed by a mandatory six-month break before they can be rehired. This can be seen as a way to offer breaks, but it also creates a revolving door of talent, which prevents the team from building institutionalized knowledge.
The impact of this policy can be seen not only in Forza Motorsport’s troubled launch but also in other Microsoft titles like Halo Infinite. Reports of “steady attrition” at Halo developer 343 Industries highlight the challenges of maintaining consistent quality with a workforce in constant flux. It seems to not be specific to any studio, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay.
Campos had hoped to turn his contract into a full-time job, a common goal for contract workers. Unfortunately, his contract was only extended for a few months before being terminated. He was upset about losing important knowledge because he couldn’t find time to write everything down. It’s a great video, and I learned a good deal about development at Microsoft from it, so I recommend it.
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