Microsoft has stopped improvement on Contraband.
Stephen Totilo’s Recreation File e-newsletter initially reported that the sport – which has been in improvement at Avalanche Studios – has ceased lively improvement.
This has now been confirmed by Avalanche, which has posted an announcement stating that “lively improvement has now stopped” on the sport.
Avalanche is finest identified for the studio behind the Simply Trigger sequence, and Contraband was set to supply a co-op open world recreation set within the Seventies.
Nonetheless, though the sport was initially introduced with a cinematic trailer throughout E3 2021, nothing has been seen within the 4 years since that preliminary reveal.
Recreation File says Microsoft declined to touch upon Contraband’s standing, however {that a} supply informed the publication that the sport had been in manufacturing for 5 years however was now “on maintain”.
Because the report was printed, Avalanche has now posted an announcement confirming that the sport is on maintain, stopping wanting saying it has been outright cancelled.
“Over the previous a number of years, Avalanche Studios Group and Xbox Recreation Studios Publishing have collaborated on Contraband,” the assertion reads.
“Energetic improvement has now stopped whereas we consider the undertaking’s future. We’re grateful for the joy we’ve seen from the group since we introduced and can give an replace on what’s subsequent as quickly as we are able to.”
On the time of its preliminary reveal 4 years in the past, Contraband director Omar Shakir known as the open-world title the studio’s “most formidable and spectacular recreation to this point”.
“We’re taking every little thing that we’ve discovered from 18 years of being on the forefront of making lovely, huge open recreation worlds crammed with gorgeous vistas and unimaginable emergent gameplay moments,” Shakir mentioned on the time.
Final month Microsoft’s gaming division confirmed it was making a recent spherical of layoffs, with head of gaming Phil Spencer saying the cuts have been designed to “finish or lower work in sure areas of the enterprise and observe Microsoft’s lead in eradicating layers of administration to extend agility and effectiveness”.
Following the information, it was then confirmed that Microsoft had cancelled Uncommon’s long-in-development RPG Everwild, in addition to Excellent Darkish (together with its studio The Initiative).
In addition to the Simply Trigger sequence, Sweden-based Avalanche additionally developed 2015’s Mad Max and co-developed 2019’s Rage 2 with id Software program.
