The upheaval continues for gaming at Microsoft. The most recent sufferer seems to be Contraband, a deliberate launch from Avalanche Studios with Xbox Sport Studios as writer. The co-op open-world recreation from the studio behind the entertaining Simply Trigger collection was teased in a short, principally atmospheric trailer at E3 2021. However little or no had been heard since in regards to the mission, and it appears the axe is at the moment hanging fairly precariously above Contraband.
“Lively growth has now stopped whereas we consider the mission’s future,” Avalanche mentioned in a on its web site. “We’re grateful for the joy we have seen from the neighborhood since we introduced and can give an replace on what’s subsequent as quickly as we will.”
Microsoft introduced in Might that it will , or about 3 p.c of its international workforce. That information was adopted by one other reduce of later in the summertime. Gaming has been hit arduous by these modifications, with a number of studios and deliberate tasks shuttering as Microsoft consolidates. This is the rundown of different tasks which have been reported to have ended to this point below Microsoft’s auspices:
A number of of the aforementioned studios, and lots of others below the Xbox umbrella, have additionally been hit by the layoffs. Some, like The Initiative, have been utterly shut down.
