According to the studio’s founder, Mike Brown, the footage is based on the same demo shown to the media at Summer Game Fest.
Clutch’s story follows fostered siblings Theo and Cass, who compete in the professional R1K championship and in the underground Midnight Collective street-racing gang.
The story begins in London, a newly revealed location alongside Monaco and the French Riviera. It’s unclear if the UK capital city will be explorable in free roam or restricted to the opening prologue.
Theo and Cass are depicted as children sitting in the back seat of their social worker’s Fiat Multipla, the same car prominently parked in Maverick’s studio in the run-up to the reveal.
The livestream confirms this will be a playable vehicle as a young Theo takes control and tears around London as the pair attempt to run away to the soundtrack of Robbie Williams’ ‘Let Me Entertain You.’ This will be one of several licensed music tracks in the game alongside a film-like orchestral score composed for the game.
Skipping ahead several years, Theo is shown escaping police in a high-speed chase and competing in an underground street race in a BMW M3, while an off-road sequence sees Cass escaping police in a Jeep.
The pair are later shown entering the Riveria R1K in a team run by their adopted father, Ludo, who is an “interesting and complicated character.” Maverick reveals that the racing team’s liveries were created by an F1 livery designer. In a key plot point, Theo’s closest friend, Mikko, dies in a dramatic accident during a race.
Whereas the R1K is about optimising racing lines, fast lap times, and finishing in the best position, street races are won based on the number of livestream viewers, accumulated with stylish driving.
Switching back to Monaco, Maverick reveals how the skies were created using “sky capture technology” sourced from high-resolution photos taken over 24 hours to simulate the day and night cycles.
According to the developer, the city is “a little bit larger than real-life Monaco” to enhance the gameplay, but the most famous roads and key landmarks are represented. Every building is also unique, with no repeated assets.
There are also several interactive spaces you can explore on foot, including an interactive villa and car meetups, where you can walk around customised cars on display. While new cars can be purchased in dealerships, older models can only be acquired at these meetups.
When driving, you can turn the headlights on and off or switch to full beams. Some scenarios even let you use the indicators to outwit police and trick them into going in the wrong direction.
Clutch is “ultimately bigger than a racing game”
The livestream concluded with a high-stakes heist mission, with Theo stealing an Aston Martin Valhalla equipped with experimental ‘Clutch Tech.’
After crashing through a window, the supercar deploys a harpoon that attaches to a helicopter before landing back onto the road and fleeing from police. The over-the-top set-piece wouldn’t look out of place in a Fast & Furious film.
While Clutch’s gadgets have had mixed responses from the community, Brown explains that they use the same physics as the cars and won’t be pre-canned. Harpoons can be aimed freely and attached to objects to swing around corners or spin cars out.
Harpoons are one of six types of Clutch Tech gadgets, with more to be revealed.
With its mix of races, high-speed chases, gadgets and even stealth missions, Brown explains that that Clutch is deliberately marketed as a driving game, rather than a racing game.
“When you say racing, it narrows your vision on what the game can be,” he said. “Because racing is one type of car-based experience.
“But as soon as you say driving instead of racing, that opens that up now. The possibility of what this game could be expands.
“Any car-based fantasy suddenly comes into play. It’s ultimately bigger than just a racing game.”
Outside of the single-player story, Maverick confirmed that Clutch will be playable in online co-op where two players take the roles of Theo and Cass.
Clutch is slated for a Spring 2027 release on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
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