Xbox cancels game that looked promising despite four years of development

Times are tough at Xbox at the moment, and a number of layoffs have taken place in recent weeks, sometimes compromise certain licenses. As if that weren't enough, a promising game was recently cancelled by the company, throwing away four years of development.

For this, we have to go back to 2021, during the Xbox Showcase of the same year. At that time, Avalanche Studios decided to unveil its future, and now defunct, project to the world. Some will have recognized it, as it was Contraband, which was none other than an open-world co-op game. 

With this announcement, the studio wanted to return to the forefront with a bold and, above all, unique opus. Indeed, Contraband was set in the fictional world of Bayan. And as its name suggests, the player had to be immersed in smuggling networks during the 1970s. 

But while this may have pleased many gamers, the project remained silent for four years. And this, until yesterday, when a rumor emerged on the Internet that the game was no longer in development. To confirm this bad surprise, Avalanche Studios issued the following statement. 

As you can see, the game is no longer in development, and the studio seems obliged to turn the page of this promising project. However, new information about future plans is expected to be revealed in the near future.

But if we take into account the four years of work carried out by Avalanche Studios, it is possible that they will serve as the basis for another title. Of course, this is all just speculation, and we will have to wait for official announcements. As a reminder, this studio developed the games in the Just Cause license, which was a resounding success worldwide. And there's no doubt that another project will follow, unless it too is discontinued by Xbox.