Recently, Square Enix shocked us all when it sold off Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, as well as the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex IPs, to Embracer Group in a deal worth $300 million. Recently, a Square Enix briefing shed some more light on the company's plans for that influx of cash, including investing in existing western IP, like Just Cause.
The briefing document, penned by Square Enix President, Yosuke Matsuda, confirms that the publisher still owns the Just Cause IP and is “at work on developing a new title in the franchise”.
Square Enix has been working with Avalanche Studios for years on the Just Cause games, resulting in four titles so far. In recent years though, Avalanche has also taken on other projects, including a Mad Max game, RAGE 2 in collaboration with Bethesda, and more recently, Contraband, an upcoming Xbox exclusive.
The document doesn't specifically state that Avalanche will be working on Just Cause 5, but we would assume the studio will be back once again. Other western-made IP that Square Enix plans to continue investing in include the likes of Outriders and Life is Strange.
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KitGuru Says: Just Cause has been on a little break, with the last game in the series releasing back in 2018. Presumably, Avalanche has its hands full finishing Contraband for Xbox for a release sometime next year, so perhaps we'll see Just Cause return sometime in 2024.