Playground Games, the team behind the incredibly fun Forza Horizon games, is currently gearing up to branch off from the racing series in hopes of laying the foundation for their upcoming open world action game. The studio has not announced what the game is about or what it will be called but have expanded to a second studio to pursue their vision.
The new studio boasts an impressive team lead by industry veterans who have worked on critically acclaimed games like Grand Theft Auto V and Metal Gear Solid V. Among the new hires is Sean Eyestone, former senior producer on Star Wars Battlefront II and 10 year veteran at Kojima Productions where he worked on Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain.
In July, chief designer Will Kennedy joined the team. He previously helped create one of the best selling games of all time, Grand Theft Auto V. Kennedy worked at Rockstar North for eight years where he was a level and game designer before eventually shifting to senior online mission and flow designer on Grand Theft Auto V.
In October, Hellblade's senior producer Juan Fernandez di Simon came on as principal combat designer. He previously worked on Rime for three years. These established names will bring the total headcount at Playground's second studio to 200 where they will all work on the unknown open world action game for the next few years. Playground's combined number of employees rounds out to about 400, leaving plenty of people to help develop the new IP along with new entries for the Forza Horizon brand.
Playground Games is expected to release a new Forza Horizon game next year but nothing has been officially announced.
