Avalanche Studios, the developer behind the Just Cause franchise, has closed its Liverpool studio, leading to the layoff of 31 employees.

The decision was confirmed yesterday on the company’s official website as an update to a previously announced “collective consultation process” that began in September. At that time, Avalanche outlined a restructuring strategy aimed at securing the studio’s “long-term success,” which included a proposal to shut down its Liverpool operations.

The consultation process was carried out to comply with UK labor regulations. Avalanche has said the restructuring will also affect its studios in Malmö and Stockholm, though no additional details about those locations were included in the latest announcement.

“We can now confirm that the process has concluded, the studio has closed, and we have parted ways with 31 colleagues,” the statement read. “The exceptional talent, passion, and dedication of everyone leaving has left a mark on every project.”

The company added that its priority remains supporting affected employees through the transition while continuing game development.

The restructuring follows an announcement made less than two months earlier that Avalanche was pausing development on Contraband, a cooperative title being developed in partnership with Xbox Game Studios Publishing.

Avalanche has not yet referenced Contraband or Microsoft in its restructuring plans

Contraband was first revealed in 2021, but active development was halted shortly after Microsoft announced widespread layoffs in July 2025. Those cuts affected numerous teams and projects across Microsoft’s games division and appeared to extend to external partners working with Xbox Game Studios Publishing.

So far, Avalanche has not referenced Contraband or Microsoft directly in connection with its current restructuring plans.

This is not the first round of studio closures for Avalanche. Last year, the company shut down its New York and Montreal offices, resulting in 50 job losses. At the time, Avalanche described the move as an “exceptionally difficult decision,” but one it deemed necessary to secure the company’s long-term stability.

Meanwhile, in April 2024, Avalanche developers entered into a collective bargaining agreement with Swedish unions. The agreement came into effect in the second quarter of 2025 and is scheduled to last two years before renegotiation.

“Over the past few years, we’ve taken meaningful steps to make Avalanche one of the best places to work in the games industry,” Avalanche Studios Group CEO Stefanía Halldórsdóttir said at the time. “We hope that signing a CBA is another step forward in that journey.”