Major changes await Swedish developer Avalanche Studios, the creators behind the Just Cause series, as the company now confirms it will completely shut down its Liverpool office. Alongside the closure, the studio is carrying out a series of staff reductions that will affect its Malmö and Stockholm teams. The announcement comes only two months after the development of Contraband was put on hold.
Avalanche states that the restructuring comes "in light of current challenges within our operations and the industry as a whole." In Liverpool, the closure will follow a formal consultation process, in accordance with UK law, while the exact number of employees affected across all studios remains unclear.
Contraband was first announced four years ago as a co-op project developed in partnership with Xbox Game Studios, but it was halted following Microsoft's sweeping layoffs earlier this summer. Avalanche has not explicitly named this as a direct cause for its own restructuring, but it is widely believed to be one of the contributing factors.
This is not the first time Avalanche has had to tighten its belt. Earlier this year, the company closed its New York and Montreal offices, and management now says they are doing their best to support impacted staff while stressing that their vision of creating vibrant game worlds remains strong, even if these are turbulent times for both Avalanche and the wider industry.