Maverick Games, led by the former creative director of the Forza Horizon franchise, is a new UK-based studio that will work on AAA games. Mike Brown, who last shipped the excellent Forza Horizon 5, will lead the new studio, and he’s joined by other Playground Games veterans ranging from producers to audio directors and other senior staff.

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Mike Brown said, “We shipped Forza Horizon 5, which was a thrill to work on. As much as I had an amazing journey at Playground, I was asking myself, what's next? Do I stick with this fun, good job? Or do I look for other opportunities?”

The studio will encourage risk-taking to bolster creativity and foster a culture where staff can speak up. “It is a truism that you can be creative, or you can be cautious, but you can't be both,” Mike Brown added. “You either decide to mitigate risks, which limits creativity, or you embrace risks, which releases creativity. We are going to build a team where we really encourage them to take creative risks, to try new things, and really celebrate that as part of our culture.”

It’ll be interesting to see what the studio puts together and whether or not it will maintain a strong relationship with Xbox. And if it will be a racing game.

Playground Games is currently working on the next Forza Horizon in addition to the Fable reboot.