Focus Entertainment Publishing has announced that it will publish CLUTCH, the upcoming open-world racing game from Maverick Games. Founded by several former Forza Horizon developers, including studio head Mike Brown, Maverick Games is developing CLUTCH for a spring 2027 release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
The partnership marks Focus Entertainment’s first move into the open-world racing genre, with both companies hoping to establish CLUTCH as a major new racing IP.
When I had the opportunity to check out CLUTCH during Summer Game Fest 2026, I asked which company Maverick Games would be working with to handle the game’s publishing duties. Following the studio’s split from Amazon Games, Maverick Games was understandably reluctant to reveal its new publishing partner to me or anyone else at the time. They had a really solid poker face; I didn’t know if they didn’t have one lined up or they just didn’t want to say anything.
Now we finally have that answer, and I am glad to see Maverick Games partnering with Focus Entertainment Publishing. Focus has been a favorite publisher of mine for quite some time, especially because of the support it has shown the developers and studios it works with. For a new studio attempting to establish an original IP in a highly competitive genre, this feels like a promising partnership.
“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,” said Vincent Chataignier, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Focus Entertainment Publishing.
CLUTCH places players in the double life of a new generation of racing outsiders. During the day, they compete at the highest level of professional motorsport. At night, they enter a dangerous underground racing scene built around reputation, competition, and police pursuit. The game will also feature an original story written by Jamie Brittain, co-creator of the British television series Skins. Maverick Games is promising a character-driven, cinematic story alongside an open world and an extensive vehicle customization system that allows players to shape both their cars and progression.
“We founded Maverick Games to build the open-world racing experience we’d dreamed about for years,” said Mike Brown, founder and CEO of Maverick Games. “Focus shares our creative bar and our ambition for CLUTCH, and we can’t wait for players everywhere to discover this world.”
This a solid get for Maverick Games and I couldn’t be happier for them.
CLUTCH is scheduled to launch in spring 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
