Contraband is a co-op smuggling game from Avalanche

Steely Dan? Well hell yeah! That’s one way to warm me up to a very teasery trailer for a new IP called Contraband.

Announced during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase for E3 2021, Contraband is an open-world co-op game from Avalanche Studios coming to PC and Xbox Series X/S.

The trailer has one big clue about what this game even is: Contraband is a “smuggler’s paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan.”

And according to Avalanche, “the team is pushing the boundaries with the next generation of our Apex Engine, the technology behind all our games, including the Just Cause series. We built the engine to unlock the creativity of our developers and we’re excited to take full advantage of the unique capabilities of Xbox Series X/S.”

There’s plenty left to prove, but premise-wise, I’m listening. This is the kind of stuff Game Pass is made for.