CLUTCH Will Be ‘Complementary’ to Forza Horizon 6

The racing genre is set for a major expansion with an array of upcoming titles, including CLUTCH, but players shouldn’t expect the title to be a direct competitor to market leader Forza Horizon 6.

Revealed earlier this year, CLUTCH is set to launch in Q1 2027 and comes from the team at Maverick Games, founded by former Forza Horizon creative director Mike Brown.

The open-world nature of the title and Brown’s previous links with the Playground Games behemoth may lead many to believe CLUTCH sees itself as a competitor to Forza Horizon 6, but that’s not the case.

CLUTCH Isn’t Aiming to Take Forza Horizon 6’s Crown

Speaking to The Game Business via IdleSloth84_ on X, CLUTCH developers identified the game’s story as a key difference to their title and Forza Horizon, and added that the title was always meant to be ‘complentary’ to the series.

“We’re not so silly as to claim that we’re going to kill Forza Horizon. Any game maker where their pitch is to usurp the dominant market leader, that’s a really high risk,” they explained.

“If we swap genres and say ‘we’re going to kill Call of Duty’, no one’s going to give you money to do that because it’s stupid. CLUTCH was always intended to be complementary to Forza.

“There’s obviously gameplay in our game that is similar, you still drive beautiful cars around gorgeous environments, but Forza’s never really been about character and story. It’s something that the franchise has historically been fairly weak on, but it’s a thing that gamers and people love.

“Adding that in to this genre in a way that, strangely, hadn’t really been done, certainly not recently, and certainly not well, I think has a really broad appeal.

“If you’ve been playing Forza Horizon 6 and having a great time, you’ll probably install CLUTCH and realize that it’s offering you a familiar experience in some areas, but then a ton of different stuff that the other game isn’t offering.”

Check out the CLUTCH reveal trailer below.

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