Maverick Games, the new UK-based game developer founded by ex-Playground Games staff, in particular folks that had worked on the Forza Horizon series, announced their upcoming open world racing game will be published by Amazon Games.
Maverick Games was founded in 2022, shortly after Forza Horizon 5’s launch. The studio now has 62 employees, with more open roles available, as they are making a “narrative-led” open world racing game.
The focus on narrative, according to studio head and creative director Mike Brown, is what’s something missing in racing/driving games.
“Lots of great driving games have amazing gameplay, amazing content,” said Brown in an interview published by Amazon Games. “But to really cross that bridge, to become a game that people genuinely love, then there needs to be that human connection where you’re actually rooting for these characters, falling in love with these characters.
“That, I think, is a place where our game will be able to really differentiate itself from the other titles in the genre. There’s nothing about this genre that prevents it from having amazing characters and amazing stories — it’s just not really been explored yet.”
It’s not that there’s been no attempts in telling a story in racing games, it’s just most attempts didn’t end up being memorable. Forza Horizon 5, a game which Brown served as creative director, has so many NPCs talking to the player but they don’t leave a lasting impression after you stop playing the game after a while. And the memorable performances people remember from racing games are the campy full motion video efforts from Need For Speed games in the 2000s, and maybe TOCA Race Driver.
Maverick Games’ upcoming racing game has Jamie Brittain as its lead writer. Brittain has made a name for being the co-creator of TV drama Skins, which revolves on compelling characters.
The team knows how to make racing games, but it’s exacting to see if they can push the boundaries of racing games with this pitch.
There’s no release date or platforms announced for Maverick Games’ still unnamed racing game.