Amazon Games Signs Narrative-Led Open-World Driving Game From Maverick Games

The first game from Maverick Games will be published by Amazon Games. The studio, led by Mike Brown, former Creative Director of Forza Horizon 5, is developing a multiplatform AAA game. It is a narrative-driven open-world driving game for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Amazon Games has reached an agreement with Maverick Games to publish a new AAA multiplatform title. The unannounced game will be a narrative-driven, open-world driving game. The clear separation between a racing game and a driving game is striking. "In our ongoing global search for talented development teams who are building compelling titles that players will love, Maverick Games stood out as a studio that can deliver on all fronts," said Christoph Hartmann, VP, Amazon Games. The collaboration with UK-based Maverick Games also comes as Amazon Games continues to expand its presence in Europe, having announced a new development studio in Bucharest, Romania earlier this month.

Maverick Games was founded in 2022, by several of the core team behind the open-world racing game series Forza Horizon, including studio head and creative director Mike Brown, who was the Creative Director on Forza Horizon 5 and Principal Game Designer on Forza Horizon 4. Hartmann adds: "Mike and his team are the total package-proven game developers who are masters at their craft and aren't content with the status quo. Their vision for this game is fresh and innovative, and we're looking forward to working alongside them to bring it to players around the world."

This unannounced game joins the Amazon Games portfolio, which includes New World and Lost Ark. Upcoming titles include the next entry in the Tomb Raider series (developed by Crystal Dynamics), a new Lord of the Rings MMO (developed by Amazon Games Orange County), and Throne and Liberty (developed by Ncsoft), which is coming to the West later this year.

Maverick Games, based in Warwick, is led by studio head Harinder Sangha (Sega Hardlight, Sumo Leamington) as COO and currently employs a team of 62. The studio also has a number of vacancies. "We founded Maverick Games with a clear vision: to build a developer-first studio that would foster an environment of creativity and risk-taking. This approach empowers our team to produce the most exceptional work of their careers. And ultimately, that means we are creating a game that our players are going to fall in love with," said Brown. "As we got to know the team at Amazon Games it quickly became clear that we had a shared ethos – a commitment to giving developers the space to really innovate in service of crafting experiences that players will find truly special. Without giving too much away, I will share that the team here is buzzing with excitement about our game and we can’t wait to share it with the world."

Jamie Brittain, co-creator of TV show Skins, is the lead writer on the game, working alongside Maverick's core leadership team including Executive Producer Tom Butcher (Forza Horizon Series, F1 All-Stars), CTO Matt Craven (Forza Horizon series, GRID, DIRT), Content Director Gareth Harwood (Forza Horizon series, Fable reboot), Audio Director Fraser Strachan (Forza Horizon series), Art Director Ben Penrose (Forza Horizon series, Fable reboot) and Visual Design Director Elly Marshall (Forza Horizon 3, Just Cause 3, DIRT).

"I've been making racing games for nearly 20 years and I know this community really well," said Brown. "I think there are a lot of fantasies, desires and motivations that this community has that we have a unique opportunity to deliver on. (...) Lots of great driving games have amazing gameplay, amazing content," said Brown. "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." This is where Jamie Brittain's strength as a lead writer comes into play. "And I think the reason Skins became a cult-like sensation is because of those characters. (…) And that is Jamie’s superpower: it's creating those characters that are flawed and actually a little bit weird - just like the rest of us - and through that we can empathize with them, we can fall in love with them."

Maverick Games is already a recipient of the GamesIndustry.biz UK Best Places To Work award in 2023. "We talk about trust a lot and we are extremely transparent with our team," says Brown. "Once you have trust, that allows you to build from there and bring in the other parts of our culture, such as unbridled creativity and empowering our staff to take risks."

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