Avalanche finalizes Liverpool studio closure, lays off 31 workers
Avalanche Studios, best known for the Just Cause series, has shuttered its Liverpool studio, resulting in 31 workers being laid off.
Announced yesterday via the company's official site, this was an update on a formerly announced "collective consultation process" that started back in September. Back then, Avalanche announced a restructuring plan to best ensure "long-term success," with the proposal of closing the Liverpool branch.
The process, then, was initiated to abide by UK law. According to the company, these changes are also set to impact the studio locations in Malmö and Stockholm, although yesterday's announcement does not include details on them.
"We can now confirm that this process has concluded, that the studio has closed, and that we have parted ways with 31 people," reads yesterday's statement. "The exceptional talent, passion, and commitment from everyone leaving have impacted every project."
Avalanche adds that its focus remains on "supporting the Avalanchers through this transition" and to carry on making games.
Avalanche has yet to mention Contraband or Microsoft in its restructuring plansThe restructuring news back in September came less than two months after the company announced it would be pausing work on Contraband, an upcoming co-op title that was being developed in collaboration with Xbox Game Studios Publishing.
Contraband was initially announced back in 2021, but active development was paused shortly after Microsoft announced a series of layoffs in July 2025. Those cuts impacted numerous studios and projects within the company's video game division, and they also appeared to impact external developers who had been working with Xbox Game Studios Publishing.
For the time being, Avalanche has yet to mention Contraband or Microsoft in these restructuring plans.
Last year, Avalanche closed its studios in New York and Montreal, laying off 50 employees in the process. Back then, the company called this an "exceptionally difficult decision," but one that it believed to be "necessary to ensure a stable and sustainable future for the company."
At the same time, developers at Avalanche formed a bargaining agreement with Swedish unions in April 2024. The contract started in the second quarter of 2025, and it's set to run for two years before negotiations begin again.
"Over the past years, we've taken significant steps toward making Avalanche one of the best workplaces in the games industry," wrote Avalanche Studios Group CEO Stefanía Halldórsdóttir at the time. "We hope that signing a CBA will be yet another step in that same direction.”
