A ex-Forza Motorsport developer revealed via a video what happened behind the scenes of the Xbox game and what the problems affecting team management (Turn 10 Studios) as well as others from Microsoft.
In short, Microsoft forces hiring only people with fixed-term contracts, thus changing the composition of a good part of the team on a regular basis. This causes various problems, since newcomers have to learn the uniqueness of the development engine, while those who have not yet been removed are left alone on several occasions, without having the time to create the necessary documentation to help the new recruits, as they have little time available to complete their work.
The explanation from the Forza Motorsport developer
Adrian Campos was hired by Turn 10 Studios as Senior Environment Artist with a contract from June 2022 to October 2023. Campos was tasked with building the terrain and scenery surrounding the circuits, “essentially everything that isn't the track,” in his words. His tenure began with work at Mugello and Spa-Francorchamps, but after just a month and a half he learned that the other Environment Artist on the team, who was teaching him the trade, had to leave because his contract was up expiration.
Over time, Campos says Microsoft hired three more artists to assist in building the twenty tracks that needed to be ready in time for launch. Campos describes the “18/6 rule.” In practice, the developers that Microsoft hired on a temporary basis, to save on healthcare or benefitsthey could only work for a maximum of 18 months before having to take leave for six.
“Around June of 2023, I got an email from the contracting company that really stunned me. It said, 'Hey, your contract is almost up.'” Campos thought he had an 18-month contract and not a year, and all Microsoft was willing to do for him was extend his contract for a few more months.
“I feel guilty, not necessarily about the system or the leaders,” Campos said. “But I feel guilty for the colleagues I'm leaving. It's an extra hand that they don't have. Lots of knowledge and niche things I discovered about the engine [del gioco] They're no longer there, simply because I didn't have time to write the documentation, because I had to finish a track.” Campos left a week before the release of Forza Motorsport last fall.
Unfortunately what Campos said is normal in many teams of Microsoft (and not only).
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