A major upcoming Xbox Series X exclusive game was recently cancelled. What’s surprising though is that the reaction from Xbox fans has been anything but surprised. Typically, when a major upcoming release is cancelled, it surprises everyone. This time though, Xbox fans seemingly saw it coming, and when you examine the context more, it makes sense why they thought this.
Back in July of 2025, Xbox cancelled three upcoming games: Perfect Dark, Everwild, and an unannounced MMORPG from ZeniMax Online Studios, the team behind The Elder Scrolls Online. All of this came as part of substantial layoffs at both Xbox and its parent company, Microsoft. When this news first broke, Xbox fans panicked wondering what was next, but then things went quiet, suggesting the cancellations were done and all of the other games were safe. This was a reasonable assumption, but, alas, an incorrect one.
For whatever reason, Xbox did not get the cancellations out of its system in July, and decided to finish summer with one more. After reports previously suggested the project was safe, this week Xbox cancelled another upcoming Xbox Game Studios’ release: Contraband, which was being made by Avalanche Studios, the team best known for the Just Cause series.
Of course, this surprised some given all of the aforementioned context; the fact it seemingly survived the July cancellations and the reports that said it was safe. However, the reason Xbox fans were worried it was going to be cancelled in the first place was because it was pretty clear development was not going overly well.
The co-op smuggler game was announced all the way back in 2021 for PC and Xbox Series X. Then it was silent the rest of the year. And then it was silent in 2022, 2023, and 2024 as well. Finally we got an update on the game more than halfway through 2025, over four years later, but it was word that it was being canned. To this end, Xbox fans suspected this may happen.
“It was weird that we saw basically a title for this game and then nothing else for years,” writes one Xbox fan of the cancellation. Another comment adds: “Not surprised to be honest.”
A third comment further drives home the point: “I guessed as much we didn’t a peep about the game. What a waste of four years.”
Over on the Xbox Reddit page, the majority of the reactions to this news echo the sentiments above. Xbox fans who weren’t paying attention may have been surprised to see another upcoming game canned, but those who have been paying attention and following Xbox Game Studios certainly suspected this was coming.
All of that said, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you think. Did this cancellation from Xbox surprise you? Meanwhile, for more coverage on all things Xbox — including all of the latest with Xbox Series X, all of the latest with Xbox One, and all of the latest with Xbox Game Pass — click here.
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