Problems with Contraband: The Xbox Exclusive Disappears Quietly from YouTube

The trailer for Contraband on the official Xbox channel has been made private without apparent explanation.

More stories in the category News

• This is what ZeniMax’s cancelled shooter was like: a mix of Blade Runner and Destiny
• The lows continue: the president of Zenimax Online Studios resigns
• The developer of Perfect Dark responds to the controversy over the supposed fake trailer of the game

For a few hours now, through Reddit, a strange movement related to Contraband, the exclusive from Avalanche Studios announced in 2021 for Xbox Series and PC, has been detected. Although there has been no official confirmation from Microsoft or the developers, the game’s trailer has been silently removed from the official Xbox channel on YouTube, leaving it as a “private video” as you can check on the game’s official page.

This change has generated concern, especially in the current context of layoffs and cancellations within Xbox Game Studios. The official Avalanche page for Contraband remains active, but it does not offer new information or a specific release date, which further fuels doubts about its status.

The future of Contraband on Xbox generates uncertainty

• Contraband was announced as a collaboration between Xbox and Avalanche Studios, creators of Just Cause, promising an open-world experience set in the 1970s focused on cooperative smuggling. However, since that initial trailer at E3 2021, the title has practically disappeared from the map, without new developments or significant updates in these years.

The removal of the video —just when other games have been canceled or put on hold— has sparked speculation about whether the project is still ongoing or if it has fallen victim to recent internal cuts. For now, there is no statement to clarify whether it is a technical decision, a simple reorganization of content, or something deeper. The last news we had about the game dates back to 2023 and there we shared that the game would not arrive until 2025…

At Generación Xbox, we are closely following the topic. If the cancellation or a restructuring of the project is confirmed, we will update with all the details. For now, Contraband remains officially listed, but its real situation remains a mystery.