Active development on Contraband, an upcoming co-op title developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Microsoft, has been halted after several years.
Bloomberg reports that Microsoft pulled out of the collaboration, which was announced back in 2021 with a brief teaser.
Avalanche confirmed work on the title has paused in a brief update—although it didn’t lay the blame at Microsoft’s door.
“Over the past several years, Avalanche Studios Group and Xbox Game Studios Publishing have collaborated on Contraband, ” reads the statement. “Active development has now stopped while we evaluate the project’s future. 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.”
Contraband was pitched as a “co-op smuggler’s paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan.” The title was slated to launch exclusively on Xbox consoles and PC.
The news comes after Microsoft laid off around 9,000 people, including a number of employees within its video game division.
Microsoft has also seemingly scaled back its publishing operations. Shortly after the cuts were announced, Romero Games was blindsided after a publisher—rumored to be Microsoft—pulled funding for an upcoming project overnight.
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Romero Games didn’t confirm the identity of the publisher in question, but suggested it was possible to “infer” who was responsible from public information. The Irish studio issued that statement after a number of employees at risk of being laid off called out Microsoft in posts on social media.
Game Developer previously approached Microsoft for comment on the status of its publishing division but has yet to hear back.