Clutch is a Brand New AAA Racing Game About ‘The Love of Driving’

It’s not very often these days that a brand-new, AAA racing game IP pops up. Nearly everything is a new release from an existing franchise, and if it is a brand new title, it tends to come from a smaller-budget indie outfit. But with Clutch, that’s exactly what we’ll be getting in 2027.

Revealed in full after a slightly strange teaser campaign featuring a Fiat Multipla, Clutch was first teased two years ago as a ‘narrative-led’ open-world driving game. Back then, Amazon Games was on board as a publisher, but they’ve since left the project, and the game is now being published independently. Developer Maverick Games was established in 2022 by former Forza Horizon creative director Mike Brown, and many of its staff come from Horizon creator Playground Games as well as veteran racing game developer Codemasters.

Described by Brown as a game about ‘the love of driving’, Clutch is built around Unreal Engine 5. It takes place in the French Riviera, and features a story written by Skins co-creator Jamie Brittain. The narrative centres around a brother and sister duo of racing prodigies competing in the fictional R1K championship, a prestigious racing series, as well as getting involved with the Midnight Collective, a loosely organised group of enthusiasts hosting what look like illegal street races.

We’ve seen this legal/illegal racing divide in games before, including in the Forza Horizon franchise, inevitably the games that Clutch will be most compared to. Unlike Horizon, though, Clutch looks set to lean more into the underworld aspect, with police chases showcased in the initial reveal.

Fairly uniquely for a game like this, gadgets are also set to play a role, with one clip showing a Nissan Skyline GT-R using a grappling hook to help execute a tight turn around a lamp post.

Speaking of cars, from what we’ve seen so far, it looks as if Clutch will have a healthy and diverse roster, with fully licenced models from Porsche, Aston Martin, BMW, Nissan, Subaru, Alfa Romeo, Renault, Land Rover and Lotus all visible in the footage we’ve seen so far. It looks as if the game’s signature car is going to be the new Porsche 911 GT3 S/C convertible, a bit of a coup for Maverick as it’s the first time we’ve seen it appear in a game. Oh, and there’s a blink and you’ll miss it appearance of that Multipla too, but possibly just as a traffic car…

Brown promises that Clutch will set “a new benchmark” in car customisation, and the reveal showcases details including the ability to select the car’s factory spec a la Test Drive Unlimited, a raft of aftermarket parts, and even personalisation options including coffee cups in cupholders, decorations on the dash and hoodies left on passenger seats.

Other details are scarce for now, beyond a 2027 release date, and the fact that it’ll come to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S and X, but more information including a full trailer will land in just a few days at Summer Games Fest in Los Angeles, which kicks off on 5 June. While it’ll take some serious work to dethrone Forza Horizon 6 as the open-world racer of choice, what we’ve seen of Clutch so far looks promising.