After the cancellation of Contraband, the former founder sees Just Cause 5 as unfeasible.

Avalanche Studios is in a critical situation after the cancellation of Contraband, an exclusive co-op game for Xbox announced in 2021. The decision to cancel has led many to speculate that Avalanche could turn to their established franchise, Just Cause. However, one of the studio's co-founders, Christofer Sundberg, who no longer works at the company, indicated that Just Cause 5 is a "no-go".

Sundberg commented on the cancellation of Contraband on social media, lamenting the end of the project that his team had presented to Microsoft in 2017: "Me and my team pitched Contraband back in 2017 to [Microsoft] (and signed it). It's changed quite a lot since then obviously, but it would have been fantastic to see it being released one day somehow."

The former co-founder expressed skepticism about the production of Just Cause 5, citing the departure of the majority of the original team: "[Just Cause 5] would be a no-go since extremely few from the original team are there still."

In response to a fan who suggested that Just Cause 5 could save the studio, Sundberg disagreed, emphasizing the need for Avalanche to seek innovation and take risks: "I doubt it. They need to find the fire again, take risks, p* people off and make games the rest said was impossible. I started Avalanche to break the mold, not to fit into one."

The cancellation of Contraband, an exclusive for Xbox, by Avalanche Studios is not likely to be followed by the release of Just Cause 5. The former co-founder Christofer Sundberg sees the project as unfeasible because the original team of Just Cause has already left the studio. Sundberg criticizes the situation and encourages Avalanche to take risks in new games.