Avalanche Studios is best known for its Just Cause series, but has unfortunately been in the news lately because the game it was working on has been shelved.
That game is Contraband, announced back in 2021 and pegged as a "smuggler's paradise" co-op experience.
The Xbox exclusive is no longer happening, leading many to think Avalanche could perhaps fall back on its established Just Cause franchise. Unfortunately, it seems that won't be happening either.
Christofer Sundberg, who co-founded Avalanche Studios but no longer works there, commented on Contraband's cancellation, and also shared his thoughts on a hypothetical Just Cause 5, on social media:
"Me and my team pitched Contraband back in 2017 to [Microsoft] (and signed it). It's changed quite a lot since then obviously, but it would have been fantastic to see it being released one day somehow. [Just Cause 5] would be a no-go since extremely few from the original team are there still."
Sundberg says that, because most of the team that built Just Cause has now moved on from Avalanche, the chances of another sequel are slim.
Replying to a fan who thinks Just Cause 5 could save the studio, Sundberg disagrees. "I doubt it. They need to find the fire again, take risks, p*** people off and make games the rest said was impossible. I started Avalanche to break the mold, not to fit into one."
It sounds unlikely we're getting another Just Cause game, then — even if that might seem like a logical next step for Avalanche Studios.
What do you think of this? Would you be interested in a Just Cause 5? Tell us in the comments section below.
Comments 24
Just cause games is so fun.i enjoy those games Word up son
Sad for the studio but Just Cause 4 lost the plot and got too carried away with gimmicks (e.g. weather systems). I’d be happy with a remake of JC 3 - one of my all time favourite games.
@playstation1995 I remember serious performance issues in 3&4 but I don’t remember why…
I'm surprised anyone would want to work with Microsoft as a contracted studio at this point. Seems like too much risk.
That sucks. The Just Cause games were over the top mayhem... I always wished they had co-op though, like Mercenaries did. That would have been chefs kiss
It sounds like the current team are (understandably) pretty disheartened after Contraband's cancellation. Hopefully they're able to find the motivation and enthusiasm for a new project, and that this isn't the end of yet another studio.
Another thing ruined by Microsoft.
Industry consolidation is bad. We are seeing why.
@SodaPop6548 Today's gaming industry is like "you can't have good things!"
Gutted, Just Cause 2 is up there with the most fun games I’ve played. 3 was a bit of a step down but still fun with the wing suit. 4…. not great. So I’d have mixed feelings with a 5 anyway but they’d have to recapture the 2nd game’s magic.
@JimmyRiddle Just Cause 3 is still my high watermark for any traversal system. I don't think I ever used fast travel the entire time.
Worst… news… evvveeeerrrrr!!!! 😱
@IamJT I play just cause 3 and never had any issues.every body get a different experience. Word up son
I would love a JC:2 remake.
Here’s the three point plan to regain that inner fire and make a game that’ll excite players and make a difference in the real world:
1. License the IP to Sony Interactive Entertainment;
2. Sony assigns BluePoint to remake Just Cause 3; and
3. Avalanche takes the money made (from licensing the Just Cause IP to SIE) and ramps up design and production on a new IP called, get this, “Avalanche.” It’ll be a bit like the Sly Stallone movie Cliffhanger…it’ll include expedition planning and resource management (a la Oregon Trail), crude crafting (a la Far Cry), in-depth triaged injury scenarios (a la Night Shift), extensive usage of real first aid techniques (a la ???) and life-saving surgery techniques (a la Surgery Simulator/Autopsy Simulator), intense mountain climbing (a la Jusant/Uncharted or Tomb Raider on steroids), cave exploration (a la Tomb Raider/Uncharted) with digging (a la Cave Digger), and snow shoe-use, cross-country & downhill skiing (a la Steep).
End result: We’d get the remake of Just Cause 3 we all want, and we’d get an awesome new game, too. Yeah, it’d be totally sweet. 🤣🤣
That's a shame. Love the Just Cause games and would love to see another one.
@jgrangervikings1 Avalanche doesn't own the Just Cause IP, Square Enix does. So they'd have to be the one to license it out.
I mean... just cause few people are left doesn't mean they won't do it.
I would personally like a new mad max though.
The last just cause was released in 2018. It's mad if they saw that much turnover in 6 years.
I thought Just Cause 4 was horrid so it's a shame but I wasn't expecting much from the series at this point.
Microsoft underwent a major restructuring by closing smaller studios like Tango, Arkane, and Initiative, and canceling projects such as Perfect Dark and Everwild, while laying off employees across all studios to focus only on its highly profitable IPs like Call of Duty, Halo, Warcraft, and Forza Motorsport etc. I think Microsoft should produce more AA titles and support smaller studios, but it seems they prefer to make more second-party and third-party deals to ensure 75 day-one game releases every year, while leaving first-party studios to focus on higher-budget, popular IPs. In the long term, it doesn’t matter much. Their strategy will succeed if they deliver high-quality games on Game Pass, whether first-party or second-party.
@SodaPop6548 Tbh I don't see how Microsoft had anything to do with Avalanche being "ruined." Avalanche pitched Contraband to Microsoft, worked on it for several years, and made nothing of substance. Worst of all, the game wasn't even good in the first place, it was just gonna be a co-op live service heist game like Payday or something. Chances are it would've flopped.
Just Cause, meanwhile, is owned by Square Enix, if I remember correctly. So Avalanche would probably have to ask them to make a new Just Cause game.
Microsoft is toxic for gaming. Microsoft has removed gaming choices from gamers.
Avalanche Studios, well some people will see the name of this studio and think Harry Potter, but nope it’s not them 👀
I only played a bit of Just Cause 3 and i think it was an okay game. But i played & finished Max Mad and i really like it. Sadly i don't think i will see a new Mad Max game...
My sympathy for Avalanche Studios. I hope they can recover and make a new game.
Good. Just Cause is mid AF, they can do better.
Some of my fave Final Fantasies have happened with few of the original team remaining onboard, so time will tell. In hindsight, it's probably THE spiritual successor to Gen 4 and 5's Strike series we've ever got, and it certainly doesn't feel like the franchise has depleted its potential. That said, I'd be equally in the market for JC4 port or even a JC1 remake on NS2 as well (alongside Mad Max for good measure) - heck, if it helped budget JC5, I'd even double-dip on the also completed 2 and 3 on the same platform.
@Bob_Tempura Strange Brigade is more linear, fantasy-slash-indianajonesing and perhaps with a comparative sliver of JC's chaos levels but what's there does apparently come with co-op (and at least on Switch, even with gyro aiming).
@Can-You-Believe-Sith I actually associate "the other" Avalanche with Disney Infinity (RIP) first and foremost.
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