A number of key team members from Forza developer Playground Games have left to establish a brand new AAA studio, called Maverick Games.
Based in Leamington Spa in the UK, Maverick Games is reportedly planning to expand from its initial 10 employees to 140, in order to work on a “premium open-world” title.
Mike Brown, who was previously the creative director on the Forza Horizon games, is leading the studio. The other staff confirmed to have joined are:
- Harinder Sangha – COO (former co-Studio Head at Sumo Leamington)
- Matt Craven – CTO (former Technical Director at Playground)
- Tom Butcher – Executive Producer at Maverick (former Lead Producer at Playground)
- Ben Penrose – Art Director at Maverick (former Studio Art Director at Playground)
- Gareth Harwood – Content Director at Maverick (former Technical Art Director at Playground)
- Fraser Strachan – Audio Director at Maverick (former Audio Director at Playground)
- Elly Marshall – UI/UX Designer (former Experience Design Director at EA)
#TeamMaverick celebrating the studio announce in @TheDBLeamington ??? pic.twitter.com/RSON7fKHwE
— Maverick Games (@MaverickGames) January 10, 2023
“Our goal is for Maverick Games to be a studio people will love,” Brown said in a press release. “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.”
You can visit the official Maverick Games website here.
