Microsoft has halted the development of Contraband, a game by Avalanche Studios

Development on Microsoft's future shooter, Contraband, has been temporarily halted.

Stephen Totilo's report in Game File revealed this update late in the evening, but there has been no official statement from either Microsoft or its partner, Avalanche Studios.

According to the report, both companies have yet to comment on the situation. Nevertheless, an insider mentioned that the progress was "on hold," and the game's announcement trailer was made private on YouTube a few weeks ago.

The reasons behind the suspension are not entirely clear, but it may be related to Microsoft's recent reduction of 9,000 positions in its gaming sector on July 2. Initially, it seemed that only The Initiative's Everwild and Perfect Dark were directly affected by these layoffs. Later disclosures indicated the cutbacks also impacted the unannounced FPS by Romero Games, and there have been reports that Turn 10, the developer behind Forza Motorsport, has closed down.

Back in 2021, shortly after the project was unveiled, Avalanche Studios' then-CEO Pim Holfve shared with GamesIndustry.biz about their collaboration with Microsoft: "We've established a strong bond with Microsoft. Partnering with a first party has been fascinating, particularly in terms of support and hardware integration. It's a new partnership model for us."

In other recent news, after announcing that The Outer Worlds 2 would be sold at $80, Microsoft later decided to adjust the price, confirming that the eagerly awaited sequel will instead be offered at $69.99, aligning with standard AAA title pricing.