Playground Games' Co-Founder Gavin Raeburn Leaving the Studio - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 05 January 2022 / 1,787 Views

Playground Games, the studio known for developing the Forza Horizon series, is losing its co-founder and studio director Gavin Raeburn. He co-founded the British studio in 2009 and his role will be replaced by another co-founder, Trevor Williams, according to Microsoft in a statement sent to Windows Central.

"After 12 years working on five award-winning Forza Horizon games, Gavin Raeburn is leaving Playground Games as Studio Director," said Microsoft's CVP of Forza and Fable, Alan Hartman in a statement.

"A founding member of Playground Games, we thank Gav for his leadership and contributions to the Forza franchise and wish him all the best. Co-founder Trevor Williams will transition from General Manager to Studio Head effective immediately, as the Playground Games team focuses on updates to Forza Horizon 5 and the development of Fable."

Playground Games released Forza Horizon 5 in November 2021 for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, and is also working on a brand-new Fable game.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.

2 Comments

G2ThaUNiT (on 05 January 2022)

I wonder if it was under his contract to release a certain number of Forza Horizon games before he could do whatever he wanted. Best of luck in your future endeavors, Gavin!