I have total faith they can make a great game in a different genre. They know how to make a beautiful open world and I'm pretty sure they have hired plenty of talented people to help with other aspects of an rpg. guerrilla games have proven it's possible to make an amazing game in a different genre so hopefully playground can follow suit

They have a lot to prove... The Forza Horizon series is great, but its a work in progress with the motorsport team (they both share assets). Now it's all on them, they're entering uncharted territories and I hope they can pull it off. I don't think it's a slam dunk like many enthusiasts think it will be. They don't really have anyone on the Xbox team they can use for guidance and that's where I think their downfall can happen.

To me this is the equivalent of The Mlb the show team turning around and saying "we're doing an open world rpg" Sony enthusiasts & gaming media would turn around and say "I'm not sure I'm fully confident they can pull it off", which is funny since it's the total opposite when it comes to Playground games "history of sharing a racing franchise... For sure they'll bang it out of the water" lol

I want it to be Fable, but I also want it to be something new partly because that’s what Xbox always gets attacked for (same IPs over and over). Plus it won’t have baggage attached as I don’t need Emotes in my storytelling and that’s basically what Fable always used for certain (many) interactions.

So if it is Fable then make it more like Fable legends (not gameplay wise) where it exists in the same universe, shares a certain level of whimsy still, but is basically it’s own take for a new audience and old alike in a post witcher 3 world. Something like a Kingdom of Amalur (very Fable-esque at times but more action than some RPGs) meets W3 (modern AAA open world rpg) in a Fable World. Emotes can still exist, but downplay them unless they add a Photomode then play it up there (possibly with NPC expressions option too like some can hide them).

I got a feeling they will do a great job. Playground games is one of the best on the business

I'm hoping for a new IP. They have bought quite a few studios, so many of them can do a new Fable. Horizon Zero Dawn is a new IP and one hell of an open world RPG. The story so ace. I hope Playground offer something just as good.

I love how they mentioned a certain level of staying “one studio” still.

This gives me the impression that whatever that game is will very likely be using this same engine as Horizon and just think of the possibilities after seeing the weather changes in it but add it to an open world Action rpg. Weather in the dlc too (storms) in a game like Fable? Shared engine tech like that can help a lot. It would be a lot like RDR2’s open world but with with the possibility of weather changes everywhere.

And the talk about interacting with other studios easier now? Get some tips or suggestions from studios here and there between each other to help with genres they might not be as familiar with. Ninja for example would be a perfect team to talk about melee combat with if they got stuck somewhere when Playground is best known for racing.

Sony has a history of allowing studio interactions and it definitely seems to be paying off for them. Death stranding is even using Horizon’s engine for it. So if MS allows all of these new teams, especially some of the smaller ones, this level of interaction then everyone will benefit even more for us.

While this is exciting to see them branching out, it makes me nervous when any dev gets under the thumb of MS.

I'm excited for PG's potential. Without question they have been one of this generation's best devs and the only one I think to release 3 games that increased their rating with each one. Amazing. Not only am I looking forward to this new RPG tremendously, but also their next entry in the Horizon franchise, which I hope they take their time with. Next gen Horizon with a possible Japan setting...woah

Playground is an incredible dev. I'm really looking forward to this. Huge fan of western open world RPGs.