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When you think of a driving game on Xbox, it's likely your first thought will be some variation of Forza. Whether that's Motorsport or Horizon, Forza dominates the majority of high-speed thrills for Microsoft. That's something Maverick Games creative director Mike Brown wants to change.
Speaking with The Game Business, Brown talks about Maverick's first game, an upcoming narrative-action racer titled Clutch, and how he'd like the fledgling studio to be considered "one of, if not the, best game developer in the world".
Brown understands Clutch is going to draw comparisons to Playground's Forza Horizon series, but believes the game's focus on "character and story" will help the studio's inaugural title get off to a cracking start.
"There’s obviously gameplay in our game that is similar, you still drive beautiful cars around gorgeous environments, but Forza’s never really been about character and story. It’s something that that franchise has historically been fairly weak on. But it’s a thing that people love. Adding that in to this genre in a way that, strangely, hadn’t really been done - certainly not recently, and certainly not well - I think has really broad appeal."
The studio is comprised of veteran Forza Horizon devs, including Brown, who claims to "know what they've not been able to get out of that game", which is why he thinks "Clutch was always intended to be complementary to Forza".
"We’re not so silly as to claim that we’re going to kill Forza Horizon. Any game maker where their pitch is to usurp the dominant market leader, that’s really high risk. If we swap genres and said, ‘we’re going to kill Call of Duty,’ no one’s going to give you money to do that because it’s stupid."
Clutch is set to launch on Xbox Series X|S sometime in Spring 2027, and has already revelead itself to be an Xbox Play Anywhere title. If you're a car-loving Xbox gamer who's a fan of action-packed open-world driving, then this may be one to keep your eye on.