Life is about change and renewal, and for some Playgrounds Games members, it’s time to strike out on your own. In a press release, Mike Brown, who we know for having been the creative director of the Forza Horizon series, has decided to found his own studio, namely Maverick Games. In this new adventure, he takes on 5 other members of the studio to once again become an independent studio, far from the pressure imposed by the big publishers. If the Maverick Games team is led by Mike Brown as creative director and head of studio, he is accompanied by Harinder Sangha as COO (previously co-head of studio, Sumo Digital Leamington), but also by Tom Butcher as executive producer, Matt Craven who takes on the role of technical director, Gareth Harwood who positions himself as content director and Fraser Strachan as audio director. All of them therefore worked together at Playground Games, on several episodes of Forza Horizon 5.
Our goal is for Maverick Games to be a studio people will love. For gamers, we are already working on an exciting title of very high quality, and for developers, we are building a house where everyone is encouraged to take risks, to be curious, to be creative, to be innovative, to be themselves. even and above all – be a maverick.
Maverick Games currently has 10 employees, as we learn that Ben Penrose is joining Sharkmob London as Art Director after having been Art Director of the Playground Games studio, and Elly Marshall completes the management team as UX / UI Director (formerly Director of Experience Design at EA). Maverick Games is founded with an independent, pioneering spirit and a commitment to placing creativity, innovation, and developer well-being at the heart of the studio. We also learn that Maverick Games has obtained significant start-up funding and is actively working on its new game. The studio is currently recruiting to expand the team.
