Avalance Studios founder Christofer Sundberg Tweeted a second potential Just Cause 3 teaser screenshot yesterday, telling his followers “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? #yearoftheavalanche #avalanchestudios @ Avalanche Studios”.
This new screenshot is extremely similar to the image that was teased a couple of weeks ago that showed the same character model, with the same gear, kicking a rider off his bike, in a very similar desert setting. Considering the studio’s history — and the fact that this unknown character seems to have the same accessories as Just Cause protagonist Rico Rodriguez — the natural assumption is that Sundberg is prepping for a Just Cause 3 announcement.
There is, however, another remote possibility.
We know that God of War 2‘s director, Cory Barlog, was working with Avalance Studios since 2008 on a Mad Max game based on Mad Max 4: Fury Road, however, that relationship stopped when Barlog joined Crystal Dynamics to work on Tomb Raider back in March 2012. At the time of the announcement, Sundberg told Eurogamer the following:
“I can’t comment on our project, but all I can say is that the projects we’ve been working on for the last two years and the one we recently started up in NY are sailing along like never before.”
Sundberg’s statement seemed to indicate that Mad Max was still very much in development last year, however, that was the last time that we heard anything about the game.
We are guessing that Sundberg’s latest tease is for Just Cause 3, however, the desert-setting shown in the two screenshots makes it impossible to rule out Avalance Studios’ long-lost Mad Max game. The only thing we know for sure, is that it is shaping up to be a very exciting E3 this June.
What are your thoughts on Sundberg’s teaser screenshots? Just Cause 3 or Mad Max? Let us know your best guess in the comments.
[Update] Avalanche Studios founder Christofer Sundberg has revealed that the teased screenshots are not from Just Cause 3 or Mad Max, but are actually from a “steampunk sandbox game” that the studio was working on five years ago. The unnamed game was shut down in 2008, which resulted in 90 layoffs
