Playground founder Gavin Raeburn reveals Lighthouse Games

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Gavin Raeburn, formerly of Forza Horizon studio Playground Games, announced his new studio today. Called Lighthouse Games, the studio is based in Leamington Spa, UK and is already at work on a new, unannounced game.

Lighthouse Games currently has 30 employees, many of them veteran games industry members, according to Raeburn, including former Playground employees. It’s also hiring for new talent. Though it’s not currently letting out any details about the game it’s working on, it’s evidently a triple-A title that Lighthouse will build out into a new franchise.

Raeburn said in a statement, “I’m delighted that 30 former colleagues and other industry heavyweights have chosen to join me at Lighthouse. With Horizon, Playground and I created one of the most successful Xbox franchises of all time. We delivered significant commercial success year after year, to massive critical acclaim, following the success from my time at Codemasters leading Dirt, Grid and F1. That DNA is now at Lighthouse, and with it, we intend to build something truly special using all our experience to create a new genre-defining franchise.”

According to Gamesindustry.biz, Lighthouse Games isn’t seeking investment at the moment, but rather to partner with a publisher with a “longer-term view of the market.” It’s also investing in its own tools and infrastructure to build its new games. This marks the second studio from former Forza developers who’ve opened new ventures in Leamington Spa in 2023, the first being Maverick Games in January.

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