Avalanche Studios has been behind a number of significantly popular games since it was founded in 2003, including Rage 2, Mad Max, and, most famously, the Just Cause series. The team has always been a big name in the open-world action scene, developing chaotic titles that allow the player to wreak havoc in enormous locations.
It seems one of their latest titles was slated to push that reputation to its limits, with writer Mikael Säker talking in an interview with YouTube's Wassup Conversations about an alternate history action game that was in development at Avalanche. Unfortunately, the project was eventually canceled, with the writer discussing the ambitious scope Avalanche was aiming for with the ill-fated project.
According to Säker, the idea was to create an "awesome open-world game set in an alternate reality version of the 1950s." Speaking on what the title was like, he recalls "It was insane," telling interviewer Hamidreza Nikoofar that the game was set it a massive open-world version of London. "We didn't have skyscrapers, but we had like inverted heights, so the city grew downwards... into the ground. You could fly zeppelins, airships... planes or jump down to these really, really deep holes in the middle of the city." The game sounds like a mix of intriguing, mind-bending ideas and Avalanche's signature fun-focused open-world mechanics, as players ventured around a striking alternate-history London using vehicles and other traversal methods. The conversation begins at 43:40 into the clip below:
Säker also reveals that the game was a visual spectacle and that, in terms of world-building, it was impeccably thought out. It's unfortunate players will never get to see the game hit shelves, with it definitely sounding like a new IP that would utilize the studio's unique set of skills. As for why it got canceled, it seems it was due to some severe economical issues over at Avalanche, with Säker revealing that a "big publisher" was responsible for canceling "all their games except one." It seems this alternate-history action game didn't make the cut. The writer seems thoroughly disappointed the project never made it to release, although he does note that it would've had a long development cycle due to having such a vast open-world.
The rest of the interview delves into Säker's long and storied past in the video game industry, addressing his work on the Riddick tie-ins, discussing cult-hit action franchise The Darkness, and talking about what it was like working on the Battlefield series. It's an intriguing look into what it takes to write video game narratives, especially as Säker has worked on a vast array of differing projects.