A recent X put up from Christofer Sundberg, co-founder of Avalanche Studios and CCO of Liquid Swords, has poured chilly water on hopes for Simply Trigger 5. Responding to chatter across the studio’s canceled initiatives, he mentioned the sequence’s subsequent mainline entry is successfully off the desk as a result of the creators who outlined it have largely moved on. As he put it on X: “#JC5 can be a no-go since extraordinarily few from the unique workforce are there nonetheless.”
Sundberg additionally mirrored on the place issues went flawed with Simply Trigger 4, noting that inner dynamics and exterior pressures dulled the sequence’ edge: “The issues with JC4 was partly me (unwillingly) transferring away from artistic management to extra company crap, writer issues, workforce composition and roles and extra.” He added a broader critique of Avalanche’s present posture: “They should discover the fireplace once more, take dangers, piss individuals off and make video games the remaining mentioned was inconceivable.”
His feedback arrived amid renewed curiosity in Contraband, the Avalanche-developed Xbox challenge that surfaced in 2021 and was later halted. Sundberg clarified his position in its origins: “Me and my workforce pitched Contraband again in 2017 to Microsoft (and signed it). It’s modified quite a bit since then, clearly.” Experiences this 12 months confirmed that the sport was shelved, adopted by studio cost-cutting strikes.
Backside line: Simply Trigger wasn’t solely a toolset. It was a philosophy of gleeful extra constructed by a selected crew, and with out it, Sundberg argues, a numbered sequel dangers changing into a model train as a substitute of a correct escalation, and that’s one thing he’s not keen to endorse.
