Leamington gaming company set for major expansion

From left: Tony Hargreave and Des Wynne of AC Lloyd, Trevor Williams and Gavin Raeburn of Playground Games

Playground Games, which develops the Forza Horizon driving games for technology giant Microsoft, is growing its workforce from 150 to 300 before the end of the year after winning a new project.

It has taken on an extra 3,000 sq ft at Rossmore House in Newbold Terrace and has agreed a new 10-year lease on the 20,000 sq ft building owned by developers AC Lloyd.

Gavin Raeburn, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Playground Games, said the move would mean recruiting people from around the world.

He added: “The new project – which is secret at the moment – will see us having to cast the net widely to attract the best developers in the industry.

“Just recently we have hired a number of developers from North America, China and Europe, and we expect our new intake to be just as international,

“Leamington is a hugely important area for the digital gaming industry and we are the largest developer in the town. It is important that we keep attracting as well as breeding the best new talent in the industry.”

The ‘Silicon Spa’ cluster includes more than 30 studios of different sizes, employing in excess of 1,200 people in a variety of roles, including coding and games development.

Des Wynne, a director of AC Lloyd, said: “Playground Games have been in Rossmore House for over four years. It has grown massively since then becoming a major player with an international reputation right in the centre of Leamington.

“The growth in this sector in the last five years has been remarkable.”