Xbox Drops Work on ‘Contraband’ Video Game After Four Years

Cancellation is the latest in a series of cuts at Microsoft’s video-game business

An Xbox games controller at the Gamescom gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, in August 2024. 

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox gaming unit is canceling Contraband, a multiplayer video game that was in development for years at the Swedish company Avalanche Studios Group.

“Active development has now stopped while we evaluate the project’s future,” Avalanche said Thursday in a statement on its website. “We’re thankful for the excitement we’ve seen from the community since we announced and will give an update on what’s next as soon as we can.”