Forza Horizon 2 developer Playground Games said that the controversy surrounding Forza Motorsport's 5's microtransactions "couldn't go unnoticed."

Forza Motorsport 5 launched with an in-game economy that many players complained made it too hard to obtain all the cars in the game without spending real money. Developer Turn 10 Studios has since made "fundamental improvements" to the game, but Playground noted fans' reactions.

"That was a big thing, and I felt bad for [Turn 10] in the amount of criticism they attracted for that," Playground Games co-founder Ralph Fulton told Eurogamer in an interview. "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."

As Playground previously announced, Forza Horizon 2 will not have microtransactions at launch, and you can expect Kinect functionality in the form of an on-board digital assistant known as ANNA.

Fulton said that overall, it's a great time to be a racing games fan and developer. "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," he said. "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."

Other racing games that are coming out before the end of the year include PlayStation 4-exclusive Driveclub, Ubisoft's The Crew, and Project Cars.

The Xbox One version of Horizon 2 is primarily being developed by Playground Games, developer of the first Horizon, while Sumo Digital is handling the Xbox 360 version. The two will be "different games," albeit ones "inspired by the same ideas" when they're released on September 30. For more, check out Gamespot's previous coverage.