Avalanche Studios co-founder Christofer Sundberg has dashed hopes for the release of Just Cause 5. According to him, the project will not be continued, although earlier in 2022 there were rumors that a new part was in development but was frozen.
In a series of messages on X, Sundberg spoke about the fate of the canceled project Contraband, and then explained that Just Cause 5 will not appear because most of the original team members no longer work at the studio.
"My team and I pitched Contraband to Microsoft back in 2017, and the deal was signed. A lot has changed since then, but it would be great to see a release someday. #JC5 will not happen because almost none of the old crew is left."
When one user noted that Just Cause 5 could "save the studio," Sundberg replied:
"I doubt it. They need to reignite the spark, take risks, annoy people, and do what others thought was impossible. I founded Avalanche to break patterns, not fit into them."
According to the profile of a former Sumo Digital employee, the studio was working on Just Cause 5 from July 2021 to July 2023. Prior to that, the franchise was managed by Avalanche, but the rights to the series belong to Square Enix, which could have transferred development to another team.
Sundberg currently heads the Liquid Swords studio, founded in 2020.
