Christofer-Sundberg
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Avalanche teaser images were steampunk sandbox game now 'on ice'
Avalanche Studios founder Christofer Sundberg's pictorial tweet teases – generally thought to be Just Cause 3 or a Mad Max game – were actually a steampunk sandbox game the studio was working on five years ago. Speaking to Edge, Sundberg explained it's a game the studio had in development but has now been "put on ice." Sundberg tweeted this morning, "The steampunk game was shut down in 2008. We lost ~90 [developers] in the process. Now, 5yrs later [Avalanche] is doing better than ever." "I really love that art style, and to combine it with sandbox gameplay is a dream of mine," he told Edge. "Fortunately, being an independent developer I can control my own destiny and we'll make something in that world sooner or later." Another "almost" Avalanche Studios project was a "massive, open world" Star Wars game, but that fell through and now is more unlikely than ever. Whatever Avalanche is really working on will hopefully be revealed by E3.
Square Enix registers domains for 'Just Cause 4' despite lack of Just Cause 3
Just in case the Just Cause series is successful enough to get a fourth entry, Square Enix wants to make sure it can employ any necessary URLs. As such, the company registered URLs in a variety of countries for "JustCause4" via URL proxy registrant Corporation Service Company, as discovered by Fusible.Neither Square Enix nor Avalance Studios have said much about the Just Cause series as of late, though Avalance studio head Christofer Sundberg told Develop in early 2010 that a third entry in the series is very likely. It's also rumored that Avalanche has been working on a Mad Max-based game; we haven't heard about that project since September 2010. Beyond Avalanche's Stockholm-based studio, the privately owned Swedish company opened a New York City office in 2011 to work on an unannounced game only known as "Project Mamba."Regardless, with just a few weeks left until E3, it's likely we'll hear more about whatever Avalanche is working on sooner, rather than later.
Avalanche founder talks piracy, hires a lot of people with 'hacker' backgrounds
If you can't beat them, hire them, provided that they have the necessary credentials and skillsets required to achieve the task that you're hiring for. That's a little wordy to serve as a business motto, but it's a philosophy possessed by Just Cause 2 developer Avalanche Studios founder Christofer Sundberg. In a recent interview with CVG, Sundberg explained that though piracy is worrying, "50 percent of the people that work for me come from a hacker background." Sundberg added that though some pirates "see us as evil," that "in Sweden the [hacking] scene was huge... As a studio, we've found that there's definitely a lot of talent [in that community]." Also, it has the added bonus of cutting down on piracy, since all those hired pirates (privateers?) are probably going to get free copies of the game they made, anyways. That's just smart.
Avalanche Studios working on licensed action game
Avalanche Studios is working on a new action game, according to studio head Christofer Sundberg. Rather than another Just Cause, this new game will be the start of a new franchise -- a licensed one, in fact. "I can't talk much about our next project, but it's definitively within the action genre," Sundberg told CVG. "But we have made a move towards the more controlled experience to better convey a strong storyline." Of course, "more controlled" than Just Cause 2 is an apt description of pretty much every game ever made. "We'll never leave our big game worlds and spectacular explosive action, though," Sundberg promised. He called the as-yet unannounced licensed project "perfect" for the studio. It's not Toy Story -- that's for sure. That's already in the hands of a different Avalanche.
Avalanche: You 'shouldn't be surprised' if Just Cause 3 is announced
Just like the all-grappling hero of the Just Cause franchise, developer Avalanche Studios is exercising an unusual amount of freedom. Like the freedom to start talking about Just Cause 3 one week after the release of Just Cause 2. Studio head Christofer Sundberg told Develop that we "shouldn't be surprised" to hear another sequel announced. "We are absolutely interested in working with the Just Cause IP again," Sundberg said. Sundberg is confident that Avalanche would be behind the continued development of the franchise, as well. "The studio lives and breathes the Just Cause franchise, and handing that over to another developer would spoil it," he said. "No one has the attachment to this IP as we do." He told Develop that after a series of layoffs, the company is being cautious about growth. "We now have a very reasonable staff size in terms of requirements, and we now have a core team who can produce quality and give each project the care it deserves." Well, that core team and a new casual-focused studio. But that's it.
