After its '70s smuggling sim Contraband fell afoul of Microsoft cuts earlier this year, Just Cause dev Avalanche has concluded the process of shuttering its Liverpool studio, laying off 31 staff in the process.
For whatever it’s worth, the layoffs will not have come as a surprise. Avalanche announced in the aftermath of Contraband’s cancellation it had “thoroughly reviewed how to best ensure Avalanche Studio Group’s long-term success.” The answer was, of course, deep cuts.
“As a result, we are proposing to close our Liverpool studio,” Avalanche said at the time, “and to initiate a collective consultation process, as required by UK law. This will impact all Avalanchers in Liverpool.” Studios in Malmö and Stockholm were also impacted, though have not been fully shuttered.
That collective consultation has now wrapped up: “We can now confirm that this process has concluded, that the studio has closed and that we have parted ways with 31 people,” wrote Avalanche in a statement on its website.
“The exceptional talent, passion, and commitment from everyone leaving have impacted every project,” continued the statement. “We are truly grateful for the dedication and invaluable contributions to Avalanche Studios Group. Our focus remains on supporting the Avalanchers through this transition and to carry on making great games for our player communities.”
(Image credit: Microsoft)
The Liverpool closure is far from Avalanche’s first. In June 2024, it closed studios in New York and Montreal—the latter of which it had only acquired eight months prior. Meanwhile, the last game to come out with a ‘made by Avalanche Studios’ stamp on it was 2019’s Rage 2, which it co-developed with id Software. Its most famous series is probably Just Cause, but Just Cause 4 was not well-loved and even Just Cause 3 did not quite capture players like the second game in the series did.
All this to say that it’s tough to see where Avalanche goes from here, and that it seems to be stuck in something of a spiral from which it’s struggling to pull up. To be fair, the studio can’t be blamed for Microsoft deciding to swing the axe, but I don’t know what would best position it to recover from the impact.
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