Mike Brown, one of the key figures behind Forza Horizon until his 2023 departure from Playground Games, is now building an open-world racing game of his own. Clutch may invite obvious comparisons with Forza Horizon 6, but Brown insists his new studio is not trying to dethrone the franchise he helped shape and instead wants to offer a different experience that can comfortably exist alongside it.

Whenever a developer leaves behind a successful series and starts making another game in the same genre, comparisons are almost inevitable. Mike Brown’s situation makes that especially true: the former Forza Horizon lead and longtime designer worked on the franchise through Forza Horizon 5 before leaving Xbox and Playground Games in 2023. He then founded Maverick Games, giving himself the creative freedom to pursue a new vision. The studio’s first major project, Clutch, now has a release window targeting the first quarter of 2027.

The similarities between Brown’s old and new projects are impossible to miss. Clutch will also place players inside a huge, detailed open world, this time stretching across the French Riviera from Marseille toward Genoa, Italy. Maverick Games, however, is emphasizing two major areas intended to separate its game from the familiar Forza Horizon formula. One concerns the types of races players will enter, while the other revolves around a much stronger narrative foundation.

Unlike Forza Horizon, Clutch also draws inspiration from Need for Speed and will feature illegal street racing. Police can chase the player during these events, while civilian traffic creates additional hazards during escapes. Daytime events will include more legitimate and elite competitions as well, including officially sanctioned races held on closed circuits. That contrast between legal motorsport and dangerous street racing should give the game a markedly different rhythm from the festival-driven atmosphere associated with Horizon.

Storytelling is the other major distinction. The campaign will not simply string together disconnected races, but will follow two brothers, Theo and Cass Martial, as they become caught up in a conspiracy involving murders that reaches into the upper levels of professional motorsport. Missions and racing events will therefore be tied into a larger narrative rather than existing purely as individual challenges. That gives Maverick Games another clear way to differentiate its project from Brown’s former franchise.

Despite the Similarities, Clutch Isn’t Trying to Dethrone Forza Horizon

Brown believes that narrative focus is one of the biggest reasons Clutch should not be viewed as a direct competitor to Forza Horizon. As he put it, Forza has never really been centered on characters and story, so the two games can provide very different experiences despite sharing similar foundations. Both are arcade racers, but Maverick Games wants its debut project to establish a distinct identity rather than simply imitate the series Brown previously helped lead.

The differences will extend to driving systems and customization too. Vehicle customization in Clutch will not be limited to cosmetic exterior changes, and the studio is building a completely new physics system using Unreal Engine 5. The aim is therefore not to reproduce Horizon’s established formula in a different location, but to combine familiar open-world racing mechanics with new narrative, mechanical, and structural ideas.

Maverick Games has also been unusually candid about how unrealistic it would be to directly challenge one of the biggest racing franchises on the market. “We’re not that stupid. We’re not going to kill Forza Horizon. It would be absurd to say so,” the developers told The Game Business. They compared such an ambition to launching a new shooter and declaring that it would overthrow Call of Duty. From the studio’s perspective, offering a recognizable but meaningfully different alternative is far less risky than trying to wage a head-on battle against the genre’s market leader.

The goal is ultimately for both games to coexist on the same player’s system. Someone enjoying Forza Horizon 6 could install Clutch and find familiar arcade racing foundations while also getting illegal street events, police pursuits, a stronger campaign, and a different approach to customization. Brown is not asking players to choose one over the other. Instead, Maverick wants them to see Clutch as another reason to spend more time in open-world cars.

Clutch does not yet have a specific release date. Maverick Games currently plans to launch it on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC during the first quarter of 2027, while Forza Horizon 6 is expected to make its way to PS5 later this year. That gap could work in Brown’s favor and reinforce the studio’s philosophy: Clutch is not trying to replace Horizon, just offer a different road for players who want more open-world racing.

Source: 3DJuegos