Sweet Baby Inc. Client Avalanche Studios Announces Office Closure And More Layoffs After Ending Development On 'Contraband'

Avalanche Studios, a client of Sweet Baby Inc., announced it is closing one of its offices and will be laying off more employees after it ended active development on Contraband.

In an update posted to the company’s website, Avalanche Studios announced it will close Liverpool studio and will be laying off people at the office as well as at its offices in Malmo and Stockholm.

The company stated, “In light of current challenges to our business and the industry, we have thoroughly reviewed how to best ensure Avalanche Studios Group’s long-term success. This review has led us to the difficult conclusion that we must make changes to our staffing and locations. As a result, we are proposing to close our Liverpool studio, and to initiate a collective consultation process, as required by UK law. This will impact all Avalanchers in Liverpool. The changes will also impact our other studio locations in Malmo and Stockholm, where we will reduce our workforce and restructure the teams to address our games’ needs.”

This announcement comes in the wake of the company announcing in August that it was ending work on Contraband. It stated in a blog post at the time, “Over the past several years, Avalanche Studios Group and Xbox Game Studios Publishing have collaborated on Contraband. Active development has now stopped while we evaluate the project’s future. 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.”

Additionally, the company had announced it laid off 10% of its staff and shut down its offices in New York and Montreal back in June 2024. They said then, “ince its inception over two decades ago, Avalanche Studios Group has grown to encompass five locations worldwide: Stockholm, New York, Malmö, Liverpool, and Montreal. Today, we regretfully announce the closure of two of those locations: New York and Montreal. This means we’ll be parting ways with around 50 valued friends and colleagues, which represents roughly 9 percent of Avalanchers worldwide.”

The statement continued, “This is an exceptionally difficult decision, but we believe it’s necessary to ensure a stable and sustainable future for the company. Our focus is now on supporting all Avalanchers through this challenging time. We’re grateful for the invaluable contributions of those leaving and remain committed to creating incredible gaming experiences for our players.”

The studio and the game were listed on Sweet Baby Inc.’s website as one its clients. Specifically, the company said it provided “sensitivity reading, character bios, and scriptwriting” for the game.

The game was originally announced back in 2021 with Avalanche describing it as a “co-op smuggler’s paradise.” The company added that the game would put players in the “roles of smugglers exploring the fictional Southeast Asian world of 1970s Bayan.”

Game Director Omar Shakir said at the time, “Contraband is our most ambitious game yet and working closely together with Xbox Games Studios has been a great experience. We can’t wait to share more about the game and the world of Bayan.”

Xbox Game Studios GM of Publishing Pete Wyse added, “We are excited to partner with the talented team at Avalanche Studios for Contraband. Experiencing the emergent, open-world craziness of an Avalanche Studios game together with your friends is something we can’t wait to bring to players.”

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