Avalanche Studios Expanding Open World Expertise with New AAA Project
As an avid fan of over-the-top open world chaos, I eagerly await each new sandbox playground cooked up by Avalanche Studios. This talented Swedish developer has honed their craft over 20 years, first carving out lush hunting grounds in theHunter franchise before making their mark on the industry with the Just Cause series.
Over 75 million hours have been spent grappling hooks to hijack vehicles, tether objects to trigger explosions, and generally wreak havoc across the Mediterranean-inspired islands of Just Cause 2 and 3. Avalanche has proven mastery implementing intricate physics systems into massive interactive environments. This even earned them the Developer of the Year award at the 2018 Develop Star Awards.
The studio also flexed their technical muscles realizing the savage post-apocalyptic wastelands of 2015‘s Mad Max. Both as a gamer and game developer myself, I have deep admiration for Avalanche‘s consistent ability to pull off these audacious sandboxes brimming with freedom and emergent gameplay.
AAA Job Listing Hints at Avalanche‘s Next Big Project
A recent job description for a Platform Programmer at Avalanche‘s headquarters in Malmo, Sweden offers our first peek at what could be their next genre-defining open world endeavour. While they are currently polishing up Contraband, an ambitious 70‘s-set cooperative heist shooter exclusive to Xbox and PC, this new project sounds much more aligned with Avalanche‘s online, open-ended pedigree.
Responsibilities for the role include developing critical multiplayer infrastructure like:
- Player profiles and save data in the cloud
- Matchmaking and lobbies
- Achievements and leaderboards to drive engagement
- Downloadable content releases
- User generated content capabilities
We can also infer from requirements like optimizing for "recent console and PC APIs" and "handling platform specific peripherals" that the game is being designed for current and next-gen systems as well as cloud streaming services.
User generated content would allow players to build and shape environments similar to pioneer open world games like Minecraft. Meanwhile integrated leaderboards, multiplayer, and DLC point to an ongoing service model rather than finite single player experience.
Market Trends Towards Live Service Games
The industry has been rapidly evolving from premium title sales to an all-you-can-eat subscription buffet like Xbox Game Pass. Full price game sales have stagnated while online driven titles like Fortnite, Apex Legends and even Ubisoft open worlds adopt free-to-play live service structures funded by seasonal battle passes and cosmetic microtransactions.
| Game | 2020 Revenue | Business Model |
|---|---|---|
| Fortnite | $5.1 Billion | Free-to-play, Battle Pass |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | $3.0 Billion | Premium title, DLC |
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | $1.9 Billion | Free-to-play, skins marketplace |
(Source: Forbes)
Mainstream brands like Call of Duty are being redesigned into "perennial platforms" with seasonal content updates. We can reasonably assume Avalanche is following suit based on the job listing.
My Perspective as a Gamer: This Sounds Incredible!
As someone who has lost hundreds of hours to the emergent chaos layered so artfully into Avalanche‘s worlds, I can barely contain my excitement imagining how online and user freedom could enhance the studio‘s formula. Avalanche sandboxes beg for multiplayer mayhem and endless community-crafted madness.
Just picturing the absurd闚oollaberant set pieces from grappling multiple vehicles together now orchestrated by teams to execute even bigger stunts makes me giddy! Never mind the potential for insane new environmental destruction effects with next generation hardware. I expect Avalanche to once again propel the boundaries of interactive open worlds.
There are still more questions than answers about precise direction. But this early insider glimpse hints at Avalanche leveraging their vast technical expertise into a social connected universe primed for 2024 and beyond. As both player and designer, these talent powerhouses have my full attention!
What possibilities capture your imagination based on these early details? Let me know your theories in the comments below! And stick with VeryAliGaming for more coverage demystifying Avalanche Studio‘s future moves.
