Both Need for Speed and Forza will be making their next-generation debuts later this month, but as of now, there’s no sign of a new entry in the Project Gotham franchise. It’s a series that plenty of people have fond memories of, but when asked about a new game on IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer couldn’t provide any solid details.
"The Kudos system we had in PGR was the real secret sauce. That was the thing people really loved. It had a great feel. It was there at launch, which I think was important, for both the original Xbox and Xbox 360,” he explained. "It's funny. I was playing the new Need for Speed on Xbox One the other day. That team and EA are doing an amazing job. The next game looks fantastic in that arcade racer space.
"Some of the rumors around PGR were probably us working on Forza Horizon with Playground, and people were guessing it was a PGR game."
With the last game seen in 2007 and the original developer, Bizarre Creations, out of the picture, the Project Gotham outlook is bleak. But Spencer is just not ready to write anything off.
"Forza Horizon is not PGR from an arcade style, but it's not me sitting on a circuit running lap after lap," Spencer said. "It's more of an open world. There's maybe an opportunity for us to look at some of the stuff that worked in PGR and think about how to…"
Look for the Xbox One to launch with a few racing titles Nov. 22.