Microsoft has halted development on Contraband
, by Thibaut
After being in development at Avalanche Studios for around five years, Contraband has ended up cancelled. At least that's what Jason Schreier claims on Bluesky following an initial report by Stephen Totilo for Game File.
These press articles were followed by an official statement from the Swedish studio known for the Just Cause franchise.
"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".
After all the layoffs at Microsoft in early July, many feared for the future of Contraband, which was announced in June 2021. Some recent job postings by Avalanche recently suggested that the project was still going on, but Microsoft decided otherwise.
With all that said, it should be noted that Jason Schreier clarified that development of OD at Kojima Productions (in partnership with Xbox) is still going strong.
Source: avalanchestudios.com