Amazon Games drops Maverick Games publishing deal for its open-world driving game

Amazon Game Studios has ended its publishing agreement with Maverick Games for the studio’s still-untitled, narrative-driven open-world driving game. The project is still in development, and Maverick says it’s now talking to other potential publishing partners.

According to The Game Business, Amazon said it’s shifting focus toward projects that “leverage Amazon’s unique strengths and scale,” and that the move gives Maverick more flexibility to find a publisher better aligned with getting the game to market.

Amazon originally signed the game in May 2024, with platforms listed as PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. In a statement shared with GamesIndustry.biz, Maverick co-founder and COO Harinder Sangha said development “continues to progress as strongly as planned” despite the publishing deal ending, and that the studio expects to share more later this year.

Maverick Games was founded in 2023 by former Playground Games developers and is led by studio head and creative director Mike Brown, who previously worked on the Forza Horizon series. There’s still no release date here, and no new details on what changes (if anything) this publishing split could mean for the game’s timeline.

The news also lands during a rough stretch for Amazon’s games business. Earlier this week, the company shut down Glowmade’s online multiplayer dungeon crawler King of Meat, with servers set to close on April 9, 2026, and it’s also confirmed New World: Aeternum will go offline on January 31, 2027.