BY AMIT BARAN ROY | Few months ago in February, Forza Horizon developer, Playground Games had revealed their plans to open a new development studio "ideally within walking distance" of their current headquarters at Leamington Spa in UK. The reason behind this plan was their forthcoming new IP, codenamed Project 2, which will be open world. Creative Director Ralph Fulton had said that the primary focus of their new office was to test themselves in a different genre with “an entirely new leadership team” and increasing the staff headcount from 115 to 200. Finally, in a recent tweet, the developer confirmed that their new IP is going to be a AAA open world action RPG project.

We have a home for our new AAA open-world action RPG project! pic.twitter.com/CGywuQLbwK — Playground Games (@WeArePlayground) November 22, 2017

This announcement comes along with the news that Playground Games has secured a new office space at St Albans House in Leamington Spa spreading 17,365 sq ft. Substantial Refurbishment of the space will be immediately commenced by the studio, and the plan is to occupy the first and ground floor. The second floor will be occupied by 2018. CEO of Playground Games, Gavin Raeburn has commented that “We are delighted to have secured St Albans House which comes at an exciting time in our growth. The building fits our needs and compliments our existing office at Rossmore House also in Leamington Spa”.

Playground Games is known for their popular Forza Horizon franchise. They are one of the pioneers when it comes to arcade style racing video games. Their latest title Forza Horizon 3 which garnered high ratings all across the internet is known for its stunning visuals, top notch soundtrack and a deluge of cars. It is not the first time that a studio is trying to shift genre. We have seen Guerrilla Games who were known for their popular FPS Killzone have successfully released their RPG Horizon Zero Dawn earlier this year.

Though much details about the new project are yet to be revealed, it is possible that fantasy and fiction can be a part of the game as they have been an essential features in Forza games. Stay tuned for more details.