New studio Maverick Games from Ex-Playground Devs Formed

[Lord Mittens]

Interview by Christopher Dring

-Running the studio itself is COO Harinder Sangha. Sangha is an award-winning studio leader who helped form Sega Hardlight and Sumo Leamington
-The team is led by studio head and creative director Mike Brown, who was previously the creative director on the Forza Horizon franchise
-The company currently has ten employees, with the aim to grow to 140. And it is working on an open-world premium AAA game for consoles and PC.
-Brown also hints that the game will react to how players are consuming entertainment these days, partially driven by the rise in subscription services

Playground Games leaders form new AAA studio Maverick Games

The new Leamington Spa AAA studio to grow to 140 people

www.gamesindustry.biz

 

[Shmunter]

Oh dear. Rats off a sinking ship?

 

[Heisenberg007]

Key leadership people who just left Playground Games:

1. Tom Butcher, Lead Producer.
2. Matt Craven, Technical Director
3. Gareth Harwood, Technical Art Director
4. Fraser Stachan, Audio Director
5. Ben Penrose, Art Director
6. Mike Brown, Creative Director

 

[Heisenberg007]

Oh dear. Rats off a sinking ship?

 

[Lord Mittens]

Key leadership people who just left Playground Games:

1. Tom Butcher, Lead Producer.
2. Matt Craven, Technical Director
3. Gareth Harwood, Technical Art Director
4. Fraser Stachan, Audio Director
5. Ben Penrose, Art Director
6. Mike Brown, Creative Director

Very big losses, but good for them

 

[Gediminas]

Oh dear. Rats off a sinking ship?

why so negative, maybe just clever ones?

Key leadership people who just left Playground Games:

1. Tom Butcher, Lead Producer.
2. Matt Craven, Technical Director
3. Gareth Harwood, Technical Art Director
4. Fraser Stachan, Audio Director
5. Ben Penrose, Art Director
6. Mike Brown, Creative Director

so basically, all studios leads. that studio part is basically dead for a year or two.

 

[Bodycount611]

Looks like the Fable project isn't going over well. When your top dogs jump ship like this, something is very wrong.

I bet they never even wanted to make Fable, MS just mismanaging resources as usual.

Sony should acquire these guys and put them on a Gran Turismo arcade racer spinoff!

 

[riesgoyfortuna]

Sony should acquire these guys and put them on a Gran Turismo arcade racer spinoff!

seems they dont want to do more car games

 

[Shmunter]

why so negative, maybe just clever ones?

so basically, all studios leads. that studio part is basically dead for a year or two.

Rats are clever. They leave before they go under with the craft.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Looks like the Fable project isn't going over well. When your top dogs jump ship like this, something is very wrong.

I bet they never even wanted to make Fable, MS just mismanaging resources as usual.

Sony should acquire these guys and put them on a Gran Turismo arcade racer spinoff!

It has a similar pattern to The Initiative.

Assemble a team > put them on a game they may not want to > production issues come up > co-studio is roped in > key people leave.

• The Initiative > Perfect Dark > production issues and delay > Crystal Dynamics joins as co-developer > 50% of The Initiative leaves.
• Playground Games > Fable > production issues and delay > Eidos Montreal joins as co-developer > 6 department heads from PG leave.

 

[Shmunter]

 

[Sircaw]

Say what you want, the studio name is cool

Amazing films.

 

[Papacheeks]

Interview by Christopher Dring

-Running the studio itself is COO Harinder Sangha. Sangha is an award-winning studio leader who helped form Sega Hardlight and Sumo Leamington
-The team is led by studio head and creative director Mike Brown, who was previously the creative director on the Forza Horizon franchise
-The company currently has ten employees, with the aim to grow to 140. And it is working on an open-world premium AAA game for consoles and PC.
-Brown also hints that the game will react to how players are consuming entertainment these days, partially driven by the rise in subscription services

Playground Games leaders form new AAA studio Maverick Games

The new Leamington Spa AAA studio to grow to 140 people

www.gamesindustry.biz

I think you want to start the thread title with" New studio Maverick Games from Ex-Playground Devs Formed? Just a thought.

Nice thread bud.

I had no clue that many leads left Playground, and all of them Forza Horizon which were some of the main Fable people. Sounds like Engine change talk was make or break for a lot of people?

This sucks, this game is not coming anytime soon.

 

[Sircaw]

Rats are clever. They leave before they go under with the craft.

are you complementing @Exanthus and @peter42O, well i never.

 

[Dabaus]

Is this the fable team/ devs or the forza 5? Is that even the same studio?

 

[SSfox]

Dayumn

 

[Old Gamer]

Is this the fable team/ devs or the forza 5? Is that even the same studio?

Same studio that makes the Forza Horizon series and is working on Fable.

 

[Dabaus]

Same studio that makes the Forza Horizon series and is working on Fable.

So i take it the Forza side of the studio developers left?


Anyone else find it uh convenient that the same guy who recently downplayed issues at playground games now has an exclusive article about 6 developers leaving said studio?

 

[Yurinka]

Let's see what their role was in the FH series:

Key leadership people who just left Playground Games:

1. Tom Butcher, Lead Producer.

Producer in Forza Horizon 2, 3, 4 and 5.

1. Matt Craven, Technical Director

Chief Engineer in Forza Horizon 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

1. Gareth Harwood, Technical Art Director

Technical Artist in FH 1 and 2, lead technical artist in FH3, Technical Artist Director in FH4 and FH5.

1. Fraser Stachan, Audio Director

Audio designer in FH2 and 3, senior audio designer in FH4, Lead Audio Designer in FH5.

1. Ben Penrose, Art Director

Associate art director in FH1, art director in FH2, FH3, FH4, FH5 (left to work as the art director of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt during development, didn't complete FH5)

1. Mike Brown, Creative Director

Game designer in FH2 and FH3, principal game designer in FH4, creative director in FH5. Also writer in FH3, FH4, FH5.

Is this the fable team/ devs or the forza 5? Is that even the same studio?

See above, I listed where they did work before. They are basically the key people of the Forza Horizon series team, who leave PlayGround to create their own studio (different than the Fable one). I understand they could have moved some FH staff to the Fable team, but I highly doubt that they'd move most of their top staff to the Fable team.

I assume many other talented will remain there who could replace them, and if not they'll hire other talented people capable of doing that job.

Sony should acquire these guys and put them on a Gran Turismo arcade racer spinoff!

I thought the same, but seeing they are working on an open world game they left because are tired of making racing games during so many years.

Also, if Sony is interested on a Gran Turismo arcade game, Firesprite has a ton of key former staff from Evolution, Bizarre Creations and Liverpool Studio.

So I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[Bodycount611]

yeah, there's no spinning it. The Fable project is in turmoil and causing a mass exodus of key talent at the studio, specifically the spurned forza/car guys.

that's basically the entire core team of what makes the Horizon games work.

It looks like MS has mismanaged another team into oblivion.