French publisher Focus Entertainment has entered into a publishing partnership with Maverick Games to bring the studio’s inaugural racing project, titled Clutch, to market. This collaboration marks a significant step for both companies: for Focus, it adds an open‑world racing experience to its catalogue, while for Maverick it provides a new home for a title that has already undergone a notable shift in its publishing arrangements.
The origins of Clutch trace back to early 2024, when Maverick Games first announced a partnership with Amazon Game Studios. At that time the game was still under wraps, and the alliance with Amazon was seen as a promising avenue for leveraging the tech giant’s extensive resources and distribution channels.
However, Amazon later decided to end the agreement, citing a strategic refocus on projects that more directly align with the company’s unique strengths and scale. The termination was announced earlier in the year, leaving Maverick to seek a new publishing partner that could support the studio’s vision for an expansive, open‑world racing title.
In the wake of Amazon’s departure, Maverick’s co‑founder and chief operating officer Harinder Sangha told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio was already engaged in “active dialogue with partners who share our long‑term ambition for the IP.” He indicated that Maverick expects to reveal further details about the partnership and the game itself later in the year, underscoring the company’s confidence that the right publishing partner would help bring Clutch to a global audience. Focus Entertainment stepped into that role, announcing that publishing Clutch would “strengthen its portfolio with its first entry into the open‑world racing space.” The French publisher emphasized a shared ambition with Maverick to deliver a standout experience and to establish Clutch as a major new racing intellectual property.
This sentiment was echoed by Vincent Chataignier, deputy CEO of Focus Entertainment Publishing, who said, “At Focus, we look to partner with creators who are redefining their genre. Mike Brown and his team are regarded as one of the defining creative voices in the racing genre, and Clutch embodies exactly the creative ambition Focus Entertainment wants to champion.” Mike Brown, founder and chief executive officer of Maverick Games, added his perspective on the partnership: “We founded Maverick Games to build the open‑world racing experience we’d dreamed about for years. Focus shares our creative bar and our ambition for Clutch, and we can’t wait for players everywhere to discover this world.” Brown’s background includes a stint as creative director on the acclaimed Forza Horizon series, and he, along with several former Playground Games developers, launched Maverick Games in 2023 with the goal of pushing the boundaries of open‑world racing design.
Clutch is slated for release in the spring of 2027 and will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. While specific gameplay details remain under wraps, the developers have hinted at a vast, seamless world where players can explore diverse environments, customize vehicles, and engage in high‑octane races that blend realism with arcade‑style fun. The open‑world structure is expected to allow for dynamic weather systems, day‑night cycles, and a variety of race types ranging from street sprints to off‑road endurance challenges.
The partnership also highlights the broader ecosystem of Focus Entertainment, which operates as a subsidiary of Pullup Entertainment. Pullup’s structure includes three core divisions: Focus Entertainment Publishing, the Arcade Crew, and a collection of development studios such as Deck13, Streumon, Twelve Tenths, Leikir Studio, Blackmill, Dovetail, and Carpool Studio.
This network provides Maverick with access to a wealth of technical expertise, marketing resources, and distribution channels across multiple platforms. From a market perspective, the entry of a new open‑world racing IP is significant. The racing genre has been dominated for years by franchises like Forza, Gran Turismo, and the Need for Speed series.
However, few titles have attempted to combine the expansive, sandbox‑style freedom of open‑world games with the depth of vehicle customization and realistic driving physics that hardcore racing fans demand. By positioning Clutch at this intersection, Maverick and Focus aim to capture both casual players seeking exploration and hardcore enthusiasts looking for competitive depth. In addition to the core gameplay loop, the developers have hinted at a narrative layer that will guide players through a world filled with rival crews, hidden collectibles, and evolving story arcs.
This narrative focus is intended to give players a sense of progression beyond merely unlocking faster cars, encouraging them to invest in the world’s lore and characters. The decision by Amazon to step away from the project also reflects a broader trend in the industry where large tech companies reassess their publishing strategies, often favoring internal projects that directly leverage cloud services, AI, or other proprietary technologies.
For Maverick, the shift opened the door to a partnership with a publisher that is more specialized in the gaming sector and can provide hands‑on support throughout development, marketing, and post‑launch live‑service planning. Looking ahead, both Maverick Games and Focus Entertainment have expressed optimism that Clutch will not only succeed as a standalone title but also lay the groundwork for future expansions, downloadable content, and possibly sequels. The long‑term vision includes building a franchise that can evolve with new technologies such as next‑gen graphics, real‑time ray tracing, and advanced physics simulations, ensuring that Clutch remains competitive in an ever‑changing gaming landscape. In summary, the collaboration between Maverick Games and Focus Entertainment represents a strategic alignment of creative ambition and publishing capability.
With a release target of spring 2027 across the major current‑generation consoles and PC, Clutch is positioned to become a fresh entrant in the open‑world racing niche, offering players a blend of exploration, high‑speed competition, and narrative depth that could set a new benchmark for the genre.