We have some bothersome rumors about Avalanche’s upcoming co-op shooter Contraband.
In the latest episode of the XNC podcast, MAGG, AKA Middle Age Game Guy, who is one of the podcast hosts, shared what he knew about the game’s status. As reported by AltChar, he said:
“I’ve been told that it’s been delayed well into 2025, could be the end of 2025 for all we know. The people that played the game said it’s very fun and great. It was a very early build, the cars didn’t even have drivers in them.”
The Verge writer Tom Warren then appeared in the podcast’s comments livestream, saying, “Contraband is ways off, for sure.”
This news may not be what Xbox fans wanted to hear. We know that Microsoft Gaming still has an incredible number of first-party games on the way, and everyone expects them to have another loaded presentation in this month’s Xbox Games Showcase. But there were certainly fans who were looking forward to Contraband, and it looks like they will have to wait a little longer before it actually gets released.
Contraband still has this description in Avalanche Studios’ website:
“Welcome to Contraband, a co-op smuggler’s paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan, brought to you by Avalanche Studios and Xbox Game Studios, and exclusive to Xbox Series S|X consoles and coming to Xbox Game Pass, Steam, and Windows 10 PC.”
Much like what Sony did with Concord, Microsoft is keeping a lot of details on Contraband under wraps. But MAGG himself shared some of his impressions of the game, alluding that he had been given access to the beta or alpha as an Xbox community member. MAGG referred to the title as a mix of elements from Battlefield Hardline, Payday, and Driver.
That certainly sounds a lot more unique and less derivative than we have seen so far with Firesprite Games Concord. But it’s certainly true that Contraband may turn out to be derivative of its inspirations after all.
Unfortunately, this rumor came a day after news that Avalanche Studios laid off 50 of their employees. They are also set to close their studios in Montreal and New York. This now certainly looks like the reason for the layoffs.
Now, we are going to emphasize here that Avalanche Studios remains a fully independent game studio, based in Sweden. Although they are making Contraband for Microsoft, Microsoft did not decide to lay off Avalanche employees, and they don’t get to make those decisions.
MAGG’s rumor even suggests that Microsoft is showing support for Avalanche, to allow them to keep making Contraband in spite of the extended period of development. But Avalanche may have been planning to release Contraband earlier to keep the studio afloat. That potential delay may have put them in a situation where the company doesn’t have enough money to go around, and they were forced to make those hard decisions. We know similar situations led to such cuts in other game companies.
We don’t really expect Avalanche to disclose what’s going on with them at this point, but it would certainly be nice if they could reassure fans with a new trailer, if there is one that’s coming this month.
