Need For Speed Collides With Forza In Stunning 2027 Release

We're revving our engines in anticipation of another high-adrenaline, high-stakes racing game, as Maverick Games shows off its debut title. More than just getting behind the wheel of fancy cars that most of us can only dream of affording, the studio's first game looks like it has a gripping story mixed with open-world racing.

Coming out of the garage and gleaming like a just-washed motor is Clutch, which is more than a little like a nod to Need For Speed and Forza. We've seen plenty of Frankenstein games that attempt to mash the pair together with mixed success, but if Clutch is half as good as its trailer makes it look, racing fans should be over the Moon

The Clutch Team's Impressive Credentials

Ex-Forza Horizon devs are making an open world racing game called Clutch that feels like Need for Speed and Forza collided into one game

- 150 customizable cars
- Installable car gadgets
- Crime and Police chases
- Open world in South of France
- Near 1:1 recreation of Monaco
-… pic.twitter.com/Q5RQhaHubb

— Farzam (@farzam_plays) June 11, 2026

Considering Clutch is being overseen by former Forza Horizon creative director Mike Brown, it's a little easier to see where the game's DNA comes from. Set in Monaco and the French Riviera, Maverick promises an open-world driving experience that will include a PvPvE environment where we can enjoy handcrafted missions and emergent gameplay events.

At the core of the story are Theo and Cass Martial, a sibling duo who are put at odds when they take part in the R1K professional circuit and also moonlight in an underground racing club known as the Midnight Collective.

We know a lot of you aren't here for the story in this kind of title, but with Maverick championing a mass of interior and exterior vehicle customisation, there's plenty to lure petrolheads to Clutch.

If all of that wasn't enough, you can get your post-007 First Light fix with cars that can have gadgets equipped, there are 16-player online sessions, and you can show off your collection with walkable car meets as well as showrooms.

When Does Clutch Release?

In the aftermath of Clutch's Summer Game Fest reveal, Brown hyped its 2027 release and teased a truly massive game when he told IGN: "We've built a version of Monaco that is actually larger than real-life Monaco. So Monaco, known for being quite dense and tight, we've allowed our level designers to add a little bit of space here and there – but every main road, every main landmark is present and correct. But the actual footprint of the space is larger than real-life Monaco."

With three city hubs of Monaco, Cannes, and Saint-Tropez, we can practically feel the wind blowing through our hair.

We know another certain automotive adventure is on the way pretty soon, but once GTA VI is out of the way, Maverick Games' own take on Need For Speed meets Forza should be racing into action in 'early 2027'. Clutch‘s suitably next-gen graphics should shine like a new coat of car wax when it arrives on PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.

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