Amazon To Publish New Open-World Driving Game Made by Former Forza Developers

Amazon has entered a deal to publish a new open-world, narrative-led driving game made by Maverick Games, founded by former Forza developers, that will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Also on board the project as the upcoming game's lead writer is the co-creator of the TV show Skins, Jamie Brittain. The new video game studio was founded by Playground Games' veterans in January last year.

Amazon To Publish New Open-World Driving Game

The company is currently being run by COO Harinder Sangha and studio head and creative director Mike Brown. Maverick Games is reportedly employing roughly 60 people in Warwick, United Kingdom right now.

Amazon Games' vice president, Christoph Hartmann also commented regarding the latest development, saying that they had an ongoing global search for talented development teams "who are building compelling titles that players will love."

He also noted that Maverick Games stood out as a video game studio that can deliver on all fronts. Hartmand said that Brown and his team had proven themselves to be capable game developers who are masters of their craft, according to GamesIndustry.

The company also announced last week the creation of a new studio located in Bucharest that is being led by former Ubisoft managing director Christian Pana.

Amazon also signed a deal recently with Embracer for a new Tomb Raider series. However, this comes as it laid off 180 people in its games division in November last year.

The latest deal signals Amazon's continued efforts to expand its presence in video game publishing. This has become a major facet of the company's enduring efforts to enter the gaming industry and become a major player among other high-profile competitors.

The company had also partnered with Bandai Namco on the upcoming anime MMO Blue Protocol. Amazon is also reportedly developing a Lord of the Rings MMO at its internal Orange County studio, which is responsible for launching New World some time ago.

Partnering With Maverick Games

The majority of these video game projects tie into other Amazon productions as the company has a Lord of the Rings series on Prime Video. The company also recently announced a Tomb Raider show, said The Verge.

In a statement, Brown said that as they got to know the team at Amazon Games, it quickly became apparent to them that they had a shared ethos. This is a commitment to giving developers the space to fully innovate in service of crafting experiences that players will find "truly special."

He added that they founded Maverick Games with one clear vision, which is to build a developer-first studio that would foster an environment of both creativity and risk-taking. He argued that this particular approach empowers the team to produce the most exceptional work of their careers.

The currently untitled game is being billed as a AAA project that is said to be more story-driven as compared to the Forza Horizon games. On the other hand, Brittain said during an interview in 2023 that he was bringing a TV writing process to the video game studio, according to IGN.