Lighthouse Games, the development studio launched this year by Playground Games founder Gavin Raeburn, has today confirmed it has received financial backing from Tencent, the multi-million dollar Chinese entertainment congolmerate.
While the investment’s value hasn’t been revealed, Lighthouse Games–which was officially unveiled in March–described it as “game-changing” and one that “sets Lighthouse on course to become one of the UK’s top AAA studios.”
The team also stated that the funding will allow the nascent developer to “maintain full control over its creative and publishing decisions” as it creates its first, unannounced IP.
Speaking of today’s investment, Lighthouse CEO Raeburn said: “The development scene is undergoing significant changes right now, with a number of tech and gaming giants making the headlines.
“This investment from Tencent anchors Lighthouse Games as a stable and serious contender in a sea of uncertainty, and we’re immensely thankful to them for believing in our strong vision and impressive leadership team. We’re thrilled to embark on the journey of creating something truly exceptional.”
Lighthouse, which is based in the U.K.’s all-star game developer hub of Leamington Spa, has given no details about its first IP, but given its team comprises alumni from Playground and Codemasters, you can put safe money on it being racing adjacent.
Earlier this year, Raeburn implied as much. “With Horizon, Playground and I created one of the most successful Xbox franchises of all time,” he said. “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.”
While the team first put its name into the gaming scene just over three months ago, Lighthouse was initially formed without announcement in July 2022. It joins Maverick Games, another studio established by veterans of the Forza Horizon series led by Mike Brown, Playground’s former creative director.
These new studios highlight a high-level talent exodus from Playground Games, ahead of what we can only assume is an upcoming announcement for Forza Horizon 6, which we can only presume could launch in late 2024.
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