Just Cause studio reveals Xbox exclusive ‘co-op smuggler’s paradise’ Contraband

Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios has announced Contraband, a new intellectual property set to be published by Xbox Game Studios for console and PC.

Coming to Xbox Game Pass at launch, Contraband is billed as “a co-op smuggler’s paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan”.

In a post on Xbox Wire, Contraband director Omar Shakir called the open-world title the studio’s “most ambitious and spectacular game to date”.

Avalanche and Microsoft started discussing the project three years ago, but it is not clear how far along development is.

“We’re taking everything that we’ve learned from 18 years of being at the forefront of creating beautiful, vast open game worlds filled with stunning vistas and incredible emergent gameplay moments,” said Shakir.

“To fully deliver on our vision for Contraband, we have an amazing team at Avalanche Studios that are pushing the boundaries with the next generation of our Apex Engine, the technology behind all our games, including the Just Cause series.

“We built the engine to unlock the creativity of our developers and we’re excited to take full advantage of the unique capabilities of Xbox Series X|S.”

As well as the Just Cause series, Stockholm, Sweden-based Avalanche also developed 2015’s Mad Max and co-developed 2019’s Rage 2 with id Software.