It has now been seven years since Just Cause 4, and although there have been rumours of a sequel, nothing has materialised. Now, Mp1st reports that it appears that Just Cause 5 was indeed in the making, developed by British studio Sumo Digital.
A former employee revealed on LinkedIn that they worked on the vehicle aspects of Just Cause 5, but that everything was shut down in 2023. We have no explanation as to why Square Enix (who owns the brand) made this decision, but it does show that, until just two years ago, they still prioritised the series and were willing to invest in it, which hopefully means that someone else can pick up the game.
Mp1st notes that the information matches other LinkedIn listings from the same era, where people at Sumo often mentioned that they were working on a secret open-world title in an established series, and it seems reasonable to assume that the cancellation is at least partly behind the large layoffs Sumo Digital has made since then.