Mike Brown and his new studio Maverick Games have revealed their debut racing game CLUTCH. The reason CLUTCH was getting hype before the name was even announced is that Mike and a decent part of the studio team come from Playground Games where their last game was Forza Horizon 5.
[CLUTCH] is a game about the love of driving, about the connection between car and driver and the raw thrill of speed. – Mike Brown
Revealed this week in a YouTube video, CLUTCH is a narrative driven open world driving game following the story of sibling racing prodigies competing in the R1K racing series which is a well-established racing series in the world which has “been the proving ground of the world’s best drivers for a one hundred years.”
Another group you’ll be hanging around are the midnight collective, which is a street racing driving club or group who put fame and money aside, and drive for the passion & thrill.
We are also briefly shown another aspect of the game which will include bank robberies and police chases which are introduced after early in the game you find yourself in “a spot of trouble”.
The customisability of the cars is highlighted by the team where you’ll be able to modify the car from cosmetic features, aftermarket parts, underglow lights, steering wheels, seats, drinks in the cup holders and even parking tickets among many, many more things. Mike also commits to adding fluffy dice to the game!
Maverick Games also point out their proprietary physics engine, custom version of Unreal Engine and long development time allowing them to go deep on the level of detail.
But as if this game wasn’t looking thrilling enough, we get a quick tease of “CLUTCH Tech Mods” which the trailer shows will let us add things to our car such as grapple hooks.
More of the story and world will be revealed at the Summer Games Fest Showcase later this week but Maverick Games have shared this:
..players will compete for position, reputation and rewards while navigating shifting alliances, escalating pursuits and rival crews across a living PvPvE action-driving world. Players will progress through a diverse array of hand-crafted and spontaneous missions and races that break the mold of modern driving games and challenge player creativity at every turn. Clutch’s open-world sandbox unleashes blockbuster action and unscripted chaos in every high-speed getaway.
I highly recommend watching the trailer above to get an idea of the vibe of this game. CLUTCH is shaping up to be the narrative racing game we have been hungry for and given the pedigree of the developers behind the game, this is absolutely a must keep an eye on level game.
CLUTCH is launching on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series in (Australian) Autum 2027.
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