Amazon Games Partners With Former Forza Horizon Devs For Story-Focused Open-World Driving Game
Written by Marcus Stewart
Amazon Games has announced a publishing agreement with Maverick Games, a young studio formed in 2022 by former Forza Horizon developers. The developer’s first project will be a story-focused, open-world driving game.
Maverick Games is based in Warwick, UK, and was founded by six former leaders from Playground Games. Its roster includes studio head and creative director Mike Brown, former creative director of the Forza Horizon series, executive producer Tom Butcher, chief technical officer Matt Craven, and content director Gareth Harwood. It also includes former Playground audio director and art director Fraser Stachan and Ben Penrose, respectively.
Maverick Games staff
The studio announced in January 2023 that its first title would be a “premium open-world game for consoles and PC.” A press release includes an interview with Mike Brown, who provides hints of what Maverick’s game has in store, which appears to emphasize storytelling and character development more than you'd expect for a driving game.
“Lots of great driving games have amazing gameplay, amazing content,” said Brown. “But to really cross that bridge, to become a game that people genuinely love, then there needs to be that human connection where you’re actually rooting for these characters, falling in love with these characters. That, I think, is a place where our game will be able to really differentiate itself from the other titles in the genre. There’s nothing about this genre that prevents it from having amazing characters and amazing stories – it’s just not really been explored yet.”
The press release also announces the hiring of Jamie Brittain, co-creator of the award-winning British TV drama Skins, as the game’s lead writer. Brown explains his belief in the power of good characters and cites Skins as an example of showcasing interesting, flawed characters to garner its cult-like following.
Maverick Games’ project joins Amazon’s growing portfolio of games, which includes Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming Tomb Raider title, an MMO based on The Lord of the Rings by New World developer Amazon Games Orange County, along with its existing titles Lost Ark and New Word.
Hive Jump 2: Survivors Premieres New Trailer To Coincide With Early Access Launch
Written by Brian Shea
Hive Jump 2: Survivors arrives in Steam Early Access today. To celebrate, publisher Midwest Games and developer Graphite Lab have shared an exclusive trailer for the Survivors-like sequel. The first Hive Jump caught our eye way back in 2015 when we named it one of the most promising indie titles on display at PAX West that year before its launch in 2017. The original Hive Jump served as a four-player co-op homage to Super Metroid, but Hive Jump 2: Survivors takes inspiration from a different title: Vampire Survivors.
The genre, called "bullet heaven," puts players in the shoes of a single character who eventually builds up to become extremely powerful as the waves of enemies grow more intense. Hive Jump 2: Survivors carries forward the look of its Metroidvania predecessor but from the genre-standard top-down perspective. You take control of a lone survivor of an alien attack who must now face seemingly insurmountable odds to survive. You can customize your loadout and upgrade your jetpack to destroy enemies and escape tough situations.
The jetpack also allows you to traverse the levels in ways not available in Vampire Survivors. The Jumpers have specific builds that allow you to cater to your play style, which combines with the upgrades you select before each run. You can play with auto-assist aiming or switch to manual controls. If you can survive 14 rounds, you can challenge big boss battles. As you collect goo from fallen enemies, you can earn better weapons, upgrades, and relics to improve your odds. Meanwhile, amber you find in the field can be traded for permanent upgrades to stats, magnets for auto-scavenging, or even screen-wiping nukes.
You can see an exclusive look at the Early Access launch trailer below.
Hive Jump 2: Survivors launches into Steam Early Access today. For more on the work produced by Graphite Lab, check out our review of their 2023 2D platformer, Mr. Run and Jump, here.
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Written by Thomas HawkinsAmazon Games Partners With Former Horizon Horizon Devs For Story-Focused Open-World Driving Game
Written by Marcus Stewart
Amazon Games has announced a publishing agreement with Maverick Games, a young studio formed in 2022 by former Forza Horizon developers. The developer’s first project will be a story-focused, open-world driving game.
Maverick Games is based in Warwick, UK, and was founded by six former leaders from Playground Games. Its roster includes studio head and creative director Mike Brown, former creative director of the Forza Horizon series, executive producer Tom Butcher, chief technical officer Matt Craven, and content director Gareth Harwood. It also includes former Playground audio director and art director Fraser Stachan and Ben Penrose, respectively.
Maverick Games staff
The studio announced in January 2023 that its first title would be a “premium open-world game for consoles and PC.” A press release includes an interview with Mike Brown, who provides hints of what Maverick’s game has in store, which appears to emphasize storytelling and character development more than you'd expect for a driving game.
“Lots of great driving games have amazing gameplay, amazing content,” said Brown. “But to really cross that bridge, to become a game that people genuinely love, then there needs to be that human connection where you’re actually rooting for these characters, falling in love with these characters. That, I think, is a place where our game will be able to really differentiate itself from the other titles in the genre. There’s nothing about this genre that prevents it from having amazing characters and amazing stories – it’s just not really been explored yet.”
The press release also announces the hiring of Jamie Brittain, co-creator of the award-winning British TV drama Skins, as the game’s lead writer. Brown explains his belief in the power of good characters and cites Skins as an example of showcasing interesting, flawed characters to garner its cult-like following.
Maverick Games’ project joins Amazon’s growing portfolio of games, which includes Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming Tomb Raider title, an MMO based on The Lord of the Rings by New World developer Amazon Games Orange County, along with its existing titles Lost Ark and New Word.
Update: Sony Pulls Down Heavily Misquoted Neil Druckmann Interview And Apologizes For 'Significant Errors And Inaccuracies'
Written by Kyle Hilliard
Earlier this month, Sony shared an interview it performed with Last of Us co-creator and Naughty Dog studio head Neil Druckmann. In it, Druckmann was quoted as saying Naughty Dog's next game "could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming." After the interview, Druckmann took to social media to clarify what he said and pointed out that he was misquoted.
In editing my rambling answers in my recent interview with SONY, some of my words, context, and intent were unfortunately lost. Well, here's the full long rambling answer for the final question about our future game... pic.twitter.com/tVuxX3LYJF
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) May 25, 2024
In his actual response, Druckmann said little about Naughty Dog's next game beyond, "It's maybe the most excited I've been for a project yet." He never made the statement that it could redefine the mainsteam perceptions of gaming. Instead, he spoke about the broad perception of gaming and how it seems to be changing thanks in part to the success of TV and movie adaptions like Fallout on Amazon, which he complimented. He also wrote that one of the reasons he worked hard on HBO's The Last of Us adaptation was he hoped non-gamers would find the show and lead them to hopefully explore the medium of video games if they hadn't before.
In response to Druckmann's post sharing his original statement, the page hosting the interview has been changed. The interview is no longer online and now features a statement reading, "In re-reviewing our recent interview with Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann, we have found several significant errors and inaccuracies that don't represent his perspective and values (including topics such as animation, writing, technology, AI, and future projects). We apologize to Neil for misrepresenting his words and for any negative impact this interview might have caused him and his team. In coordination with Naughty Dog and SIE, we have removed the interview."
Original story published May 23, 2024:
In an interview with his parent company on Sony.com, Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann talks about AI and briefly teases Naughty Dog's next game. Druckmann is expectedly vague about Naughty Dog's next big project but offers an enticing tease, saying, "I'm eager to see how this new game resonates, especially following the success of The Last of Us, as it could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming."
The interview, however, primarily focuses on technology and how it improves and makes it easier for creators to tell unique stories. Regarding AI, Druckmann says, "AI is really going to revolutionize how content is being created, although it does bring up some ethical issues we need to address. With technologies like AI and the ability to do motion capture right from home, we're reducing both costs and technical hurdles, opening the door for us to take on more adventurous projects and push the boundaries of storytelling in games."
He also briefly touches on the future of The Last of Us TV show, citing that modern technology has allowed him to oversee the TV show's second season remotely from Los Angeles while it shoots in Canada.
You can read the full interview here. You can also read more about what is happening with the TV show's second season, including casting details, here.