Key information
In 2014, the Xbox ecosystem faced severe difficulties following controversies surrounding Don Mattrick, the forced inclusion of the Kinect camera which increased the console's price by one hundred euros compared to the PS4, and the underwhelming reception of Forza Motorsport 5. Phil Spencer took over management during this turbulent period, leading to the release of Playground Games' Forza Horizon 2.
Playground Games was assembled by Gavin Raeburn, Trevor Williams, and Ralph Fulton, bringing together British racing game veterans from Bizarre Creations, Criterion, Black Rock, and Codemasters. The studio was tasked with adapting Turn 10's rigid physics engine into an open-world sandbox for the Xbox One hardware.
Forza Horizon 2 moved away from strict track boundaries, setting the action across Provence and Tuscany with a dynamic weather system, an acclaimed soundtrack featuring Hospital Records and Bass Arena, and a performance targeting a fluid 30 frames per second without loading screens. The title achieved critical acclaim, shifting the internal hierarchy at Microsoft as the spin-off outperformed Forza Motorsport.
This success led to Microsoft officially acquiring Playground Games in 2018, expanding the franchise and eventually tasking the studio with reviving the Fable series.
