Project Gotham Racing not in development at present

Project Gotham Racing is on hold, Microsoft has confirmed, with no series entires in the works at present.

Responding to a fan on Twitter, Microsoft Game Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer said there's nothing on the radar for the franchise right now.

"We aren't currently working on Project Gotham Racing," he said.

"I really liked the franchise, really just down to number of racing franchises."

Although there aren't anywhere near as many racing franchises as in previous generations, any new racing game faces stiff competition from Microsoft's own Forza, Sony's Gran Turismo, EA's Need for Speed, various Codemasters properties, license-specific titles like WRC and NASCAR, and indie efforts like Project CARS.

The spiritual successor to Dreamcast title Metropolis Street Racer, Project Gotham Racing spawned four core entries for Xbox platforms. Developer Bizarre Creations was acquired by Activision in 2007, and eventually disbanded after the release of Blur. Microsoft retained the franchise rights.

Thanks, IGN.