Xbox has canceled Contraband, the new IP by Avalanche Studios, the team behind Just Cause, that was announced all the way back in 2021.
Contraband was supposed to be a co-op game set in the 1970s with players taking control of a couple of smugglers. A small teaser was shown during the E3 2021 Xbox conference.
The reports of the game's cancellation come via Jason Schreier on social media. It's worth noting that the entire project went basically dark since its initial reveal, so I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the gaming community completely forgot it was an ongoing project that will now never see the light of day.
Contraband being scrapped comes weeks after major layoffs at Microsoft that affected Xbox as well. Among the affected, there was The Initiative, a new studio that was developing the upcoming Perfect Dark game, and Rare, with Everwild being axed.
These layoffs are a massive sour spot on an otherwise very interesting year for Xbox as a studio and Game Pass as a service. Players have gotten to enjoy things like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Doom: The Dark Ages, and even Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
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