Amazon's gaming walkback continues as it ends publishing deal for a new racing game being headed up by former Forza Horizon creative director

Amazon’s gaming walkback continues as it ends publishing deal for a new racing game being headed up by former Forza Horizon creative director | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Gaming Industry Bluepoint Games, Sony’s famed remaster studio, is being closed as the fallout from PlayStation’s disastrous pivot to live service continues Gaming Industry XCOM designer Jake Solomon announces surprise closure of his studio alongside a first look at its canceled life sim, ‘the game we poured our hearts into’ Gaming Industry ‘Father of the Xbox’ predicts the end following Phil Spencer’s exit: The new CEO will be ‘a palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night’ Assassin’s Creed Former Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry director says Ubisoft ‘became very allergic’ to new games, which contributed to a ‘talent drain’ Assassin’s Creed The director of the first Assassin’s Creed with naval battles found it ‘bizarre’ to watch Skull and Bones’ agonisingly long development, because it was ‘essentially the same stuff re-shipping 14 years after we made it’ Games Amazon expected this co-op party game to draw in 100,000+ active players, but it hit an all-time peak of just 320 on Steam and now it’s closing for good just 6 months after it launched Gaming Industry NetEase breaks up with another western studio, but it refuses to die and instead ‘remains motivated and deeply committed to the incredible game we’re building’ FPS Highguard website woes are just an administrative thing, developer says, and the studio is in no rush to fix it because ‘reputational damage’ is already done Games New games 2025: The year’s PC game releases FPS Highguard didn’t flop FPS Laid-off Highguard developer cuts loose on the reaction to the infamous Game Awards reveal trailer: ‘We were turned into a joke from minute one’ RPG Anime action RPG studio Pahdo Labs shuts down despite accruing $17.5M in funding: ‘We believed making a demo of a familiar but new game would be our best shot’ Gaming Industry King of Meat studio was reportedly expecting 100,000 concurrent players, but it peaked at 320 on Steam—and that was during a free weekend Third Person Shooter Embark’s CEO says they couldn’t compete ‘with the likes of EA and Activision’ head on so they had to ‘change the way games were being developed’ FPS Dishonored co-creator says it was ‘a shock’ when Microsoft closed Arkane Austin after Redfall’s release: ‘We were working on something really cool’ PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Arc RaidersBest PC gearFalloutGame Quizzes Gaming Industry Amazon’s gaming walkback continues as it ends publishing deal for a new racing game being headed up by former Forza Horizon creative director News By Andy Chalk published 25 February 2026 Maverick Games has confirmed that it is “no longer working with Amazon Games Studio.” When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. 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Subscribe to our newsletter Back in October 2025, Amazon effectively threw in the towel on its big-budget videogame ambitions, leaving itself only with the mysterious Tomb Raider game (which later turned out to be two games) and an open world racer being developed by Maverick Games, a studio headed up by former Forza Horizon creative director Michael Brown.Well, you can cut that number by one, because Amazon has ended its publishing deal with Maverick.”As part of our strategic evolution to focus on projects that leverage Amazon’s unique strengths and scale, including the recent re-launch of Luna and our Tomb Raider franchise partnership with Crystal Dynamics, we have decided to release Maverick Games from their publishing agreement with Amazon Game Studios,” an Amazon Games rep told The Game Business. Related articles Amazon expected this co-op party game to draw in 100,000+ active players, but it hit an all-time peak of just 320 on Steam and now it’s closing for good just 6 months after it launched King of Meat studio was reportedly expecting 100,000 concurrent players, but it peaked at 320 on Steam—and that was during a free weekend Amazon sells a free-to-play MOBA it had in development, and the studio making it, to Ubisoft “We have tremendous respect for the Maverick Games team and the compelling narrative-led driving experience they’re creating. This decision allows Maverick Games the fle