A new exclusive game for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC that was thought to release at some point in 2022 might now not be arriving until later on. Specifically, that game in question happens to be Contraband, which is a new IP being developed by Avalanche Studios. Contraband was first revealed last summer as part of Xbox and Bethesda’s showcase event, but not many details about the title were offered up. Since that time, we also haven’t heard anything more substantial about what the game will have in store. Now, it seems as though we may know why news on Contraband has been sparse and it’s because it won’t be released for a bit longer.
In the latest episode of The Xbox Two podcast, hosts Rand al Thor 19 and Jez Corden talked a bit about Contraband and when it could arrive. According to both hosts, they originally heard that Contraband was supposed to launch at a time in 2022. However, the project ended up being delayed internally and now isn’t going to release until sometime in 2023 instead. When originally announced, Avalanche Studios and Xbox both didn’t commit to a launch window whatsoever for Contraband, though, which means that this “delay” is one that won’t be publicly announced.
Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Contraband, other than its launch window, comes with its gameplay. When the title was first unveiled last year, it was only divulged via a trailer that essentially just revealed the name of the game. As such, we haven’t yet seen how Contraband will even play just yet. That being said, it seems likely that Contraband will end up being a centerpiece of one of Xbox’s future showcase events. Although such an event hasn’t been confirmed to be taking place just yet in 2022, it seems all but certain that we should expect to learn more about what Xbox has in the pipeline at some point this summer.
Assuming that Contraband won’t release until next year, how do you feel about this move? And when do you think we’ll see the title shown off again? Let me know either down in the comments or you can reach out to me on social media at @MooreMan12.
