Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios announces Liverpool shutdown and workforce cuts in Sweden

The Swedish developer behind the Just Cause and Mad Max series, Avalanche Studios, has announced the shutdown of its Liverpool studio, alongside a reduction of workforce at its core Malmo and Stockholm locations.

The studio broke the news in a statement published on the company’s website on September 30, 2025, amid ongoing hurdles in the gaming industry. The Liverpool studio, established in 2020 as part of its global expansion, has now ceased operation entirely. Previously, the Liverpool location focused on support roles and had not released any standalone titles.

Avalanche stated:

In light of current challenges to our business and the industry, we have thoroughly reviewed how to ensure Avalanche Studios Group’s long-term success best.

This review has led us to the difficult conclusion that we must make changes to our staffing and locations. As a result, we are proposing to close our Liverpool studio and to initiate a collective consultation process as required by UK law. This will impact all “Avalanchers” in Liverpool.

The changes will also impact our other studio locations in Malmo and Stockholm, where we will reduce our workforce and restructure the teams to address our games’ needs.

The company also mentioned that it is focusing on offering full support to all Avalanchers during this challenging time and that, despite the structural changes, the studio will remain fully committed to delivering amazing games to its passionate players.

Currently, the number of affected employees remains under wraps. Avalanche Studios Group employs more than 600 people worldwide. This move marks the third such action by the company in just over a year, following the shutdown of its New York and Montreal offices in June 2024, which resulted in 50 layoffs.

This announcement comes just one month after Microsoft canceled the co-op heist game, Contraband, which was being developed by Avalanche’s Liverpool team, which was first revealed four years ago in 2021. In August 2025, Microsoft paused development on the title amid its sweeping layoffs, and Avalanche announced that “active development has now stopped.”

Considering the given circumstances, it seems unlikely that Contraband will be released anytime soon. The link from the Avalanche Studios site to Contraband’s Official site now redirects to the Xbox US homepage.

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