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Avalanche Studios, best known for their work on the Just Cause, Rage 2 and Mad Max series of open-world sandbox games, and according to a recent job listing on the Avalanche Studios website, their next game will follow suit.
Avalanche is looking for a gameplay animator for Systemic Reaction, Avalanche’s creative arm that was technically renamed Avalanche Studios Group in 2020 – the website outlines the duties and responsibilities of the position. Most of the information is standard, although some details of the mysterious upcoming project can be seen. Among the list of required skills for the position is an item denoting the experience of animating armed human characters in first and third person, as well as “spooky robot characters”.
Who exactly the creepy robotic character is is anyone’s guess, but previous Avalanche games can provide some insight into it. Debuting in 2019, Generation Zero is a co-op shooter that borrows elements from games like STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl and Horizon Zero Dawn. Striving to survive in a Cold War European countryside infested with maniacal mechs. If “creepy robot characters” appear in a future Avalanche Studios-related game, they will likely be influenced by the robots from that game.
Avalanche Studios and Systemic Reaction released a co-op game in the same vein in 2020. A bit like a cross between Destiny and Monster Hunter, Second Extinction in Early Access sees players team up to hunt dinosaurs in a bizarre mix of far future and far past. While it does not feature robotic enemies, this could be an example of the typical Avalanche Studios style featured in the job listing.
There is no mention of any specific game that is currently in development, but the hiring is most likely related to Contraband, a joint project between Avalanche Studios and Xbox Game Studios that was announced during E3 2021. It is said to be An open-world co-op shooter set in the mid-70s, it certainly fits the Avalanche archetype. However, very little is known about the game, but the creepy robot enemies don’t seem to be quite on topic, so it’s entirely possible that Avalanche’s job listing is for something entirely different.
