Just Cause devs worked on a big project. Contraband was supposed to take us back to the 70s and let us step into the shoes of smugglers

I’ve been a fan of Avalanche Studios pretty much from the start, ever since their debut game was announced. I’m talking about Just Cause, which wowed players with its over-the-top gameplay and huge open world, earning it the nickname "tropical GTA." There’s no denying that over the years, the Stockholm team has lost a bit of its way - its flagship series has lost some of its former shine, and the studio has struggled to deliver a game of the same caliber. The opportunity to turn things around was supposed to come with Contraband. A chance that, unfortunately, will most likely never come to fruition.

Smuggling action game from the developers of Just Cause

Contraband was officially announced back in June 2021. At the time, Microsoft announced that the game, developed by Avalanche Studios, would be exclusive to Xbox Series X/S and PC. So far, not much is known about the game itself. All we really know comes from its official description, which reads:

Distant release date

The game was slated for release on PC and Xbox Series X/S, with its debut planned for the Xbox Game Pass service. When? Good question. The short official description and the mysterious trailer made it clear that the game probably wasn’t very far along in development. It looked like its release was still a long way off.

In March 2022, unofficial reports started circulating that Contraband had been internally delayed. The reports suggested that, although the developers originally aimed for a 2022 release, the game was ultimately pushed back to 2023.

Enigmatic gameplay

For a long time, an even bigger mystery was what the gameplay in Contraband would actually look like. The smuggling theme, combined with the studio’s previous work, suggested that we’d be getting a shooter, and, unlike Just Cause, it would be built around cooperative play. Still, in February 2022, unofficial rumors surfaced hinting that vehicle combat might be a major feature in Contraband.

The rumors suggested that, while organizing smuggling and heists in the open world would be the main focus, shooting would be more of a last resort. Instead, players were expected to take out enemies by targeting their vehicles - like popping their tires.

An important project

And… that’s basically all we’ve learned about Contraband in the four years since it was announced. Meanwhile, clues have popped up suggesting that over 150 people might have worked on the game. If true, that would make it a much bigger project than Just Cause 4, showing just how important this game was meant to be for Avalanche Studios.

Contraband. Source: Avalanche Studios / Xbox Game Studios.

A premature end

The long silence around Contraband was finally broken on August 7, 2025. Unfortunately, not in the way fans were hoping. Avalanche Studios and Microsoft released a statement saying that work on the game has been suspended. As could be read in it:

It didn’t take long for Jason Schreier, famous for digging up industry scoops, to respond - citing his sources, he said that the project had been completely cancelled:

So, even without official confirmation, it looks like Contraband has joined Perfect Dark and Everwild - the other "major" Microsoft titles that were cancelled in the summer of 2025.

Contraband. Source: Avalanche Studios / Xbox Game Studios.

Unfortunately, as of now, the only material released from Contraband is the trailer from June 2021. Only time will tell if any screenshots or gameplay footage from the title will ever surface.

Contraband

cancelled

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• Overview

• Avalanche Studios
• Xbox Game Studios / Microsoft Gaming
• cancelled games
• Necro Gaming