Just One Month After Xbox's Contraband Cancelation, Developer Avalanche Announces Layoffs and UK Studio Closure Plans

Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios has announced plans to laic disconnected unit crossed its studios successful Malmo and Stockholm, and adjacent its bureau successful Liverpool, impacting each of the company's UK staff.

The announcement comes conscionable a period aft Xbox formally canceled Contraband, Avalanche's long-gestating unfastened satellite co-op crippled that had been successful improvement since astatine slightest 2021. That determination followed wide layoffs astatine Microsoft successful July that eliminated 9,100 jobs and resulted successful Xbox's ain Everwild and Perfect Dark being ditched.

In a connection published contiguous connected Avalanche's website, the institution did not specifically blasted Contraband's cancelation arsenic the crushed for the layoffs, alternatively referring to "current challenges to our concern and the industry."

However, the timing of the determination leaves small to the imagination, and the connection present is akin to that utilized by Romero Games, which besides confirmed layoffs aft the cancelation of its ain Xbox-funded project, though said it was contractually incapable to sanction the steadfast it had been moving with.

"In airy of existent challenges to our concern and the industry, we person thoroughly reviewed however to champion guarantee Avalanche Studios Group's semipermanent success," the institution wrote today.

"This reappraisal has led america to the hard decision that we indispensable marque changes to our staffing and locations. As a result, we are proposing to adjacent our Liverpool studio, and to initiate a corporate consultation process, arsenic required by UK law. This volition interaction each Avalanchers successful Liverpool. The changes volition besides interaction our different workplace locations successful Malmo and Stockholm, wherever we volition trim our workforce and restructure the teams to code our games' needs."

Alongside the projected closure of Avalanche's Liverpool office, a study contiguous by DBLTAP states that "a signficant percentage" of the company's existent workforce volition beryllium impacted, with sources confirming the layoffs were a nonstop effect of Xbox's determination to cancel Contraband.

The announcement comes conscionable implicit a twelvemonth aft Avalanche antecedently unopen its New York and Montreal studios, resulting successful the nonaccomplishment of astir 50 jobs. With nary caller task publically announced, and nary introduction successful the company's trademark Just Cause bid launched since 2018, it's unclear wherever Avalanche's aboriginal present lies.

"Our contiguous absorption is to connection afloat enactment to each Avalanchers during this challenging time," the workplace concluded today. "Despite these changes, we stay profoundly committed to providing astonishing games to our passionate subordinate communities."

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social