What to know
- Amazon Game Studios has ended its publishing agreement with a racing game from Maverick Games, a studio founded by former Forza Horizon developers.
- The narrative-led, open-world driving title is still in development and seeking a new publishing partner.
- The move is part of Amazon’s broader shift away from large internal game projects after layoffs and other cancellations.
- Amazon retains focus on its Tomb Raider game projects with Crystal Dynamics and its Luna cloud gaming service.
You’ve probably seen the buzz: Amazon has stepped away from publishing a high-profile racing game being made by Maverick Games, a UK studio formed by veterans of the Forza Horizon series. The announcement came in February 2026 and underscores how Amazon’s gaming division is scaling back ambitions in traditional AAA development.
This project was a narrative-led, open-world driving game intended for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Maverick Games was founded in 2022 by industry veterans including Mike Brown, formerly creative director on the Forza Horizon franchise, and led by Harinder Sangha.
Amazon had previously signed on to publish the game back in 2024, positioning it as one of its flagship third-party partnerships. That deal is now cancelled, freeing Maverick to find a new publishing partner while continuing development.
The decision is part of a broader retrenchment of Amazon’s gaming efforts. Over the past year, it has cut many MMO projects—including New World and a planned Lord of the Rings MMO—shut down co-op and party games, transferred another unreleased project (March of Giants) to Ubisoft, and seen leadership turnover in its games division.
Despite this pullback, Amazon is not exiting gaming entirely. It continues to support its Luna cloud gaming platform and maintain partnerships to publish two upcoming Tomb Raider titles developed with Crystal Dynamics.
For Maverick, this change means extra work to secure funding and distribution, but the studio says development is progressing well and it’s already in talks with companies that share its long-term vision for the racer.
