Latest news with #JustCause
The Star
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Xbox drops work on 'Contraband' video game after four years
Xbox has said little about Contraband since the game was announced in 2021 with a vague teaser. It was described on the company's website as 'a co-op smuggler's paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan'. — Photo by Sam Pak on Unsplash Microsoft Corp's Xbox gaming unit is cancelling Contraband , a multiplayer video game that was in development for years at the Swedish company Avalanche Studios Group. "Active development has now stopped while we evaluate the project's future,' Avalanche said Thursday in a statement on its website. "We're thankful for the excitement we've seen from the community since we announced and will give an update on what's next as soon as we can.' Xbox has said little about Contraband since the game was announced in 2021 with a vague teaser. It was described on the company's website as "a co-op smuggler's paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan'. Avalanche is best known for the Just Cause series, in which players parachute around a massive open world. The cancellation follows hundreds of job cuts at Xbox last month, as well as the axing of major titles that had been in development for years, including Perfect Dark , Everwild and an online game code-named Blackbird . – Bloomberg
Engadget
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Microsoft has ended 'active development' on Contraband
The upheaval continues for gaming at Microsoft. The latest victim appears to be Contraband , a planned release from Avalanche Studios with Xbox Game Studios as publisher. The co-op open-world game from the studio behind the entertaining Just Cause series was teased in a brief, mostly atmospheric trailer at E3 2021. But very little had been heard since about the project, and it seems the axe is currently hanging pretty precariously above Contraband . "Active development has now stopped while we evaluate the project's future," Avalanche said in a post on its website. "We're thankful for the excitement we've seen from the community since we announced and will give an update on what's next as soon as we can." Microsoft announced in May that it would cut 7,000 jobs , or about 3 percent of its global workforce. That news was followed by another cut of 9,000 positions later in the summer. Gaming has been hit hard by these changes, with several studios and planned projects shuttering as Microsoft consolidates. Here's the rundown of other projects that have been reported to have ended so far under Microsoft's auspices: Perfect Dark reboot from The Initiative Warcraft Rumble from Blizzard Entertainment An unnamed FPS from Romero Games Several of the aforementioned studios, and many others under the Xbox umbrella, have also been hit by the layoffs. Some, like The Initiative, have been completely shut down.
The Verge
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Contraband is (possibly) no more.
Posted Aug 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM UTC Contraband is (possibly) no more. Development on Contraband , the next game from Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios, is now on pause. According to a post on its website, Avalanche and publisher Xbox are 'evaluating the project's future.' Contraband was revealed during E3 2021 before Xbox went radio silent on its development. The news of the game's production pause comes shortly after Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees. An Update on Contraband - Avalanche Studios Group [Avalanche Studios Group] Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates. Ash Parrish Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Ash Parrish Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Xbox
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
After years of development hell, a Just Cause movie is finally moving forward – with Nobody 2, John Wick, and DC talent all involved
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A Just Cause movie has been a long time in coming. An attempt to get the open world video game adapted for the big screen in 2019 came and went and, last year, things had gotten moving again under a different behind-the-scenes team. Now, it looks like Rico Rodriguez is finally about to grapple hook his way into cinemas – and not a moment too soon. As per The Wrap, Jack Ryan and Nobody 2 writer Aaron Rabin is penning the script for Just Cause, which already has Blue Beetle director Ángel Manuel Soto on board. There has been nothing announced in the way of casting, release date, or plot just yet, but we'd expect the upcoming title to draw heavily from the video game franchise. In the series, which currently consists of four games, Rico Rodriguez frequently finds himself toppling dictators and oppressive regimes with his own inimitable hard-hitting, high-flying style. There are action chops aplenty on the producing side of things, too, as 87North's David Leitch, who directed Bullet Train and co-directed the first John Wick movie, is part of the project alongside partner Kelly McCormick. Rabin's next project Nobody 2, starring Bob Odenkirk, is set to release in cinemas on August 15. The cast also features Connie Nielsen, RZA, Sharon Stone, and a returning Christopher Lloyd. For more, check out the upcoming video game movies heading your way very soon. Then dive into the list of new PS5 games and new Xbox Series X games releasing in 2025 and beyond.
