Microsoft was coming off a pretty poor month. At the start of this month, we saw headline after headline. Among the layoffs resulting from Microsoft’s latest restructuring, the Xbox gaming division suffered a notable loss. From it, we saw several game cancellations, layoffs, and even the shuttering of The Initiative. That left some wondering about the future of other projects we haven’t heard about in a rather long time. One of the big ones was Contraband.
Avalanche Studios is working on this game. These are the folks behind the Just Cause franchise. That’s not to be confused with Avalanche Software, the development team behind Hogwarts Legacy. It’s easy to confuse the two. But we know that Avalanche Studios was working on a game called Contraband.
During the latest round of layoffs at Microsoft, we didn’t see any direct impact on Avalanche Studios. However, that didn’t stop some speculation, as a trailer for the game went private on YouTube. Again, speculation had fans wondering if this was due to the game being canceled or if there was just a problem with the music licensed for the trailer.
New Evidence Shows Contraband Is In Active Development
There is a new shred of evidence to showcase that the game is not in danger yet. Thanks to Tech4Gamers, we’re learning that a job listing for a product lead on the game appeared after the layoffs that affected Microsoft. It appears that Microsoft is committed to ensuring this game reaches its completion. Of course, we’re not going to hold our breath quite yet.
Another game project that seemed to be successful was scrapped. If you recall, ZeniMax Online Studios had an unannounced game canceled. This was after the reception among developers, and Microsoft was positive. Although we don’t have the official details about its cancellation, a rumor has been circulating. If believed, Microsoft might have scrapped this game to give more resources towards new Fallout games.
With that said, ZeniMax Online Studios hasn’t seen any layoffs. Instead, a union is working behind the scenes for those who found their project pulled away. We’ll have to monitor that situation and see what the outcome might be.
Meanwhile, for Contraband, we’re left in the dark still. The game provided barely any information beyond being a multiplayer heist-style game. So, we’ll just have to wait for the developers to finish cooking.
