diff --git a/packages/apollo-server-core/src/playground.ts b/packages/apollo-server-core/src/playground.ts
index 9f54f73d155..b4cbc0f6aff 100644
--- a/packages/apollo-server-core/src/playground.ts
+++ b/packages/apollo-server-core/src/playground.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ export const defaultPlaygroundOptions = {
 };
 
 export function createPlaygroundOptions(
-  playground: PlaygroundConfig = {},
+  playground?: PlaygroundConfig,
 ): PlaygroundRenderPageOptions | undefined {
   const isDev = process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production';
   const enabled: boolean =