Rumor: Contraband Was Originally Slated for 2022 and Now Delayed to 2023 - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 21 March 2022 / 2,154 Views
Publisher Microsoft and Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios in June 2021 announced Contraband for the Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Windows Central's Jez Corden Insider Rand al Thor 19 on the Xbox Two Podcast claim Contraband was originally slated to launch in 2022, however, it has now been delayed internally to 2023.
Microsoft is reportedly planning to host its annual big Xbox showcase in the usual month of June for this year.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently said he wants the first-party lineup of Xbox studios to get to a point where it can release a "steady flow of great games."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
With MS, I have a feeling a good amount of games getting "delayed" is moreso them trying to accomplish their steady stream of games. If releasing a major AAA game a month is their goal, which could very well be the case with the dozens of studios they have now, to get there they will have to artificially delay some games over the next year or two until they've got their pipeline organized. If they don't do it now, then their acquired studios will release potentially sales-limiting competitive games with other Microsoft studios indefinitely.
That could definitely be the case, but I still wonder why 2022 is short on releases? And if Microsoft is waiting till E3 to have their big showcase, that would confirm they'll be putting out first party exclusives for the holiday season.
And with Starfield being that huge title that was front and center from the ZeniMax purchase, you'd think Microsoft would want to give that game as much room as possible to shine. Especially considering how packed this holiday season is looking already.
I don't know, these games have literally never been shown in any meaningful capacity. Aside from Starfield which we know will repeat Skyrim and Fallout's short turnover (summer reveal, winter release), I think most fingers point towards MS racing to announce a bunch of games before they were ready hence all the CGI trailers. Reasonable delays are also the norm, just look at Sony (GT7/Horizon/GOW Ragnarok) were all delayed.
MS are very fortunate the chip shortage is holding PS5 back from gaining too much of a lead. Their 2022 line ups are night and day. By the time stock is sorted MS should have a steady stream of exclusives boasting their platform.
For sure! It's a damn shame and a crime that two huge PS exclusives couldn't culminate in a massive amount of PS5 consoles being sold. It's really been the general availability of the Series S using different components than what the Series X and PS5 use that's kept Xbox in the running. There's been several Xbox first party titles put out so far, sure, but it was just during the holiday season, and it appears it'll be about the same this year with Redfall, Forza Motorsport, and Starfield.
2023 should hopefully have both Sony and Microsoft going at full steam in manufacturing enough consoles and pumping out first party titles. Obsidian's take on Elder Scrolls, Avowed, is currently rumored to release around Q1 2023, which I'm really looking forward to.
You realize people dont just buy consoles based on 1st party output right? People will buy consoles based on price, value and services just as much. GamePass alone will still sell Xboxes regardless of the output on the other competitors. Sure it helps to have a solid lineup but this mentality goes both ways if thats what you believe.
