Many other developers at Playground Games and beyond have left to join this new studio.
Xbox’s Playground Games recently underwent some of the biggest successes in the company’s history, with the release of Forza Horizon 5 being the biggest launch in Xbox history when it released in 2021, with 10 million players concurrently within its first week.
Despite this, veteran developers of this title are departing the studio. Most notably, Mike Brown, the former creative director of Forza Horizon 5 and other Playground Games titles, will serve as creative director for this brand-new UK-based studio in Leamington Spa. This new studio’s first title is said to be a brand new open-world title available on consoles and PC, though the context of the title and whether it relates to racing or not is still unclear.
Brown shared this on Twitter:
Joining Mike Brown in this move are other Playground Games veterans, including Matt Craven (CTO), Tom Butcher (Executive Producer), Fraser Strachan (Audio Director), and finally, Gareth Harwood (Content Director). Moreover, this is not just a move for Playground Games developers; Sumo Digital Leamington co-studio head Harinder Sangha and EA’s former Design Director Ely Marshall have also joined the new studio. In addition to this, Maverick Games is stated to have received “significant seed funding”.
Mike Brown stated in regards to the studio that: Our goal is for Maverick Games to be a studio people will love,” He went on to further state that “For players, we’re already at work on an exciting ultra-high quality title, and for developers, we’re building a home where everyone is encouraged to take risks, be curious, be creative, be innovative, be themselves, and above all – be a Maverick.”
Maverick Games is currently hiring hoping to grow their studio further. Here at GamesCreed, we cover everything gaming. From the latest news to game reviews, GamesCreed has you covered.
