Playground Games’ Forza Horizon 2 will look to avoid the mistakes of Forza Motorsport 5, chiefly by not including micro-transactions. Turn 10 Studios received a fair amount of flak for it in Forza 5 and Playground Games co-founder Ralph Fulton believes that the economy in Horizon 2 will be much better balanced.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Fulton said that, “That was a big thing, and I felt bad for [Turn 10] in the amount of criticism they attracted for that. In Horizon 2, we’ve always set out to ensure that the game feels fair, that the economy is balanced, and that they feel rewarded for the things they do in the game. That’s the key to game design, in my experience – making people feel like they’re achieving things, and that they feel adequately rewarded. Maybe even over-rewarded sometimes.”
He also believes that the current climate is good for racing game fans and developers. “One of the things that’s great for me, personally, not just in terms of Playground and Horizon 2, it’s the rude health the scene is in. We came from a place where people really didn’t want to know about racing games – now you’ve got people working on new IP, reviving old franchises. It’s a really great time for the genre.”
Forza Horizon 2 will be out on September 30th for Xbox One and Xbox 360 – Sumo Digital will be handling the previous generation release.