CLUTCH developer Maverick Games has revealed new details about its recreation of Monaco and the driving model behind its upcoming open-world racer, currently playable at Gamescom 2026 ahead of a Spring 2027 release.
Maverick Games has provided a closer look at CLUTCH during the Future Games Show at Gamescom 2026, detailing the scale of its Monaco recreation and the philosophy behind a handling model designed to give cars a convincing sense of weight without turning the game into a hardcore simulator.
Studio CEO and Creative Director Mike Brown says Maverick has represented every real road in Monaco within the game’s interpretation of the principality. This does not mean CLUTCH uses an exact 1:1 recreation, but the studio wants its urban centre to remain recognisable through its real road network.
Monaco Gets Bespoke Roads and Buildings
Maverick has gone beyond recreating Monaco’s street layout. Brown says every individual building within its Monaco environment has been created as a bespoke asset by an artist, rather than relying primarily on repeated prefabricated buildings to fill the city.
Monaco forms part of CLUTCH’s wider French Riviera open world, chosen for its combination of driving roads, automotive culture and motorsport history. Exploration will also be rewarded through collectibles and driving challenges spread across the map.
The setting supports CLUTCH’s broader structure, which mixes sanctioned professional motorsport with underground street racing, pursuits and cinematic driving missions. Focus Entertainment, which was confirmed as the game’s publisher on August 24, describes the experience as a double life between the R1K professional racing series and the underground Midnight Collective.
Maverick Wants Cars to Feel Weighty
Brown also used the Gamescom presentation to further explain CLUTCH’s handling philosophy.
Maverick describes the game as having a realistic driving model, with cars designed to communicate their weight and punish players who push beyond their limits. Brown argues that drivers need the ability to make mistakes for successfully controlling a car at the limit to feel rewarding.
That does not reposition CLUTCH as a pure racing simulator. The game remains a cinematic open-world driving title, but Maverick is aiming for a more grounded relationship between car behaviour and player input rather than an extremely forgiving arcade model.
The studio has previously discussed its physics and handling development in detail, with dedicated staff working on how different cars communicate grip, weight transfer and character.
CLUTCH is currently playable publicly at Gamescom 2026 from August 26-30, giving attendees an early hands-on opportunity in Cologne. The game is scheduled for Spring 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, with no exact release date yet announced.
See you on the track!
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