Hogwarts Legacy studio's next game to be Xbox exclusive

We’re very much in the dark about what’s next for the Hogwarts Legacy franchise. We’ve known for quite some time though what’s coming up for studio Avalanche Software.

I’m imagining that Hogwarts Legacy does indeed have a future given that it proved to be 2023’s best-selling game. With the long delayed Nintendo Switch version of the game now having been released, devs are free to focus on what’s next - whether that be an expansion or sequel. It turns out though that devs are already hard at work on another project, Contraband.

If you’ve completely forgotten about Contraband’s existence, I can’t really blame you. This Xbox exclusive was revealed back in 2021. A joint venture between Avalanche Software and Xbox Game Studios, the description on Avalanche’s site reads, “Welcome to Contraband, a co-op smuggler’s paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan, brought to you by Avalanche Studios and Xbox Game Studios, and exclusive to Xbox Series S|X consoles and coming to Xbox Game Pass, Steam, and Windows 10 PC.”

Take a look at Contraband’s reveal trailer below.

The studio was already hard at work on Hogwarts Legacy back when Contraband was announced but it’s expected that this title will be next in line for release. It’s been radio silence since the project was revealed but one insider claims to have knowledge of how its development is progressing.

As reported by GameRanx, Twitter’s Middleagegamegy / MAGG recently appeared on the Xbox Infinite podcast claiming to have seen footage. He compared the vibe of the game to Battlefield Hardline, Payday, and Driver. He went on to hype up the car chases before adding that the game will have eight-player co-op. We don’t yet know if Contraband will be live service or not.

MAGG later took to social media to expand on his thoughts, adding, “Everyone should be very excited about Contraband, it's gonna be WILD when you see it. I'll leave it at that.” The so-called insider is under the impression that the game is between the beta and alpha stages, so while it’s not ready to release, we’re inching closer towards an official update.