Microsoft axes Just Cause studio’s Contraband
By Marco Wutz
Microsoft isn’t quite done with game cancellations following its latest wave of layoffs. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, the company has axed the game Contraband, which had been in development at Avalanche Studios for several years.
Announced four years ago with a simple tease of the logo and title, the Just Cause studio’s next game remained shrouded in mystery, as nothing else was shown or revealed about it since.
Avalanche confirmed the cancellation of the project on its website following Schreier’s report, stating: “Over the past several years, Avalanche Studios Group and Xbox Game Studios Publishing have collaborated on Contraband. Active development has now stopped while we evaluate the project's future. We're thankful for the excitement we've seen from the community since we announced and will give an update on what's next as soon as we can.”
The studio’s wording makes it sound like there is yet hope for the game to see the light of day, possibly with a different publisher seeing it over the finish line.
Citing a Microsoft spokesperson, Schreier confirmed that Hideo Kojima’s collaborative project with Xbox – titled OD – is still in development.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently revealed that the company has “nearly 40 games” in the pipeline. Its next wave of releases will be showcased at Gamescom 2025.
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