Playground Games is a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa, England. Founded in December 2009 by Gavin Raeburn, Trevor Williams, and Ralph Fulton, the studio was built from racing game veterans drawn from Codemasters, Ubisoft Reflections, and Criterion Games. They developed every entry in the Forza Horizon series and are currently developing the Fable reboot. Microsoft acquired them in 2018.

Playground Games Origin Story

The Founding

Gavin Raeburn worked at Codemasters for 24 years before co-founding Playground. At E3 2010, Raeburn and Williams pitched Turn 10 Studios with a concept for an open-world Forza game. Turn 10 agreed and Playground was confirmed as developer of Forza Horizon in 2012.

Playground Games Games

Forza Horizon (2012)

Set during a fictional street racing festival in Colorado, it took the Forza Motorsport simulation foundation and opened it into a free-roaming open world. Immediately well-received and established Playground as a studio capable of running their own major franchise.

Forza Horizon 2 (2014), 3 (2016), 4 (2018), 5 (2021)

Each entry expanded the scope and ambition, moving to southern Europe, Australia, Britain, and Mexico. Forza Horizon 4 was announced simultaneously with Microsoft’s acquisition of Playground at E3 2018. Forza Horizon 5 received universal critical praise. Forza Horizon 6 is announced for 2026.

Fable (In Development)

Playground has been developing a Fable reboot since around 2018, a significant genre shift from racing games. Now with a third studio opened in 2024 to support the project. No release date announced but it is one of the most anticipated Xbox titles.

The Microsoft Acquisition

Microsoft announced the acquisition at E3 2018. Gavin Raeburn left in January 2022 with Trevor Williams stepping into the Studio Head role. The studio operates across multiple Leamington Spa locations with over 300 employees.