Steam is joining in on the E3 leaks by accidentally publishing an advertisement for the as-yet-unannounced open-world action game sequel Just Cause 4.
With only a few days left before E3 2018 begins, the leaks are arriving faster and faster. Another rumored game seems to be confirmed, as Valve apparently pushed an ad to Steam users for the as-yet-unannounced Just Cause 4. The ad features a picture of Just Cause protagonist Rico Rogriguez underneath a stormy sky, requesting that users “Pre-Purchase Now.”
Unfortunately, the ad doesn’t lead to a Just Cause 4 Steam profile if you click on it, so no further details are available for the game. The ad has just been published into Steam’s ad rotation a day or few too early, as it appears both in the initial pop-up ads when Steam first opens and the collage of ads for “Updates and Offers” on Steam’s storefront. Or at least it did before Steam quickly removed it.
Avalanche Studios has yet to comment on the Just Cause 4 leak, but there’s virtually no scenario where the ad is fake. Just Cause 4 is all but certain to be announced during the opening days of E3, if not within the next day or two if Avalanche decides to confirm the leaks.
This past week has been a dramatic one for Avalanche Studios, which has grown in recent year to a three-studio team. The first major announcement came in the way of Rage 2, which Avalanche is developing in partnership with Rage developer id Software. Built on Avalanche’s Apex engine, the mix of Avalanche’s open world experience and id’s eye for post-apocalyptic deviancy should come together nicely.
The second announcement was all business as Nordisk film, a Denmark-based entertainment subsidiary, announced it had acquired Avalanche Studios. Avalanche retains creative freedom, while hopefully now being financially secure going forward.
The third game announcement was for Generation Zero, an open-world action game set in Sweden in the 1980s. Generation Zero also features 4-player cooperative multiplayer.
Just Cause 4 will bring the total number of Avalanche games in development to three, one for each major studio within the company. All three could potentially launch within the next six to twelve months.
Just Cause 4 has no currently announced release window or platforms, but will likely be coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
