We love finding weird, head-scratching corners of game files, and this one is a proper doozy: a purported test world for Contraband has allegedly been discovered tucked away inside a Steam Beta build of a fishing game from the same studio.
What Was Reported
According to Pure Xbox, a leak shows what is claimed to be an "entire test world map for Contraband" hidden inside Call Of The Wild: The Angler, a title from Avalanche Studios. The footage, shared by Luke JC on YouTube, allegedly gives us a look at early assets for the cancelled Xbox exclusive Contraband — a project Microsoft reportedly scrapped just over a year ago.
The leaked build is said to include "early block outs, tons of props, vehicles, and environment concepts", with locations ranging from a floating level and sunken temple to a grand palace, NPC-filled towns, markets and a few mission areas. The video reportedly points out surprising pockets of polish in otherwise rudimentary spaces: neon lights, bathrooms, and sections of towns that appear further along in development than surrounding areas. There are also character, weapon, and vehicle models visible, and some of the old-timey cars are reportedly drivable.
Per the video referenced by Pure Xbox, the test map is dated February 18, 2022, which is described as being more than four years prior to Contraband getting cancelled. If true, the find gives a rare glimpse at very early work on a game that, sadly, is said to be dead at this point.
The Source & Credibility
Who Found It
We’re dealing with a chain of claims here. Pure Xbox reports the leak, and the footage originates from Luke JC on YouTube. The alleged discovery comes from a Steam Beta build of Call Of The Wild: The Angler, according to the same reporting.
How Much Weight To Give It
Take this with a pinch of salt: we don’t have direct access to the files or the uploader’s full provenance, only the video evidence and the account passed along by Pure Xbox. The date stamped on the map and the range of assets shown are compelling on their face, but they remain unverified outside the footage. We’re treating the material as an intriguing leak rather than definitive proof of development milestones.
What It Could Mean
If the footage and file dates are accurate, this leak suggests that Avalanche Studios was building expansive, varied locations for Contraband much earlier than the cancellation. The alleged presence of both rough "block out" environments and surprisingly detailed pockets could indicate an iterative development approach where teams prototype broad layouts before fleshing out specific scenes.
It’s also notable — if true — that these assets turned up inside a different product from the same studio. That could imply internal test tooling, shared development environments, or simple file management oddities that led to a stray test world being bundled in a Beta. Again, that interpretation is speculative and should be read as such.
This discovery sits alongside other conversations about how big projects and corporate strategies intersect with dev studios, including speculation around platform decisions and preservation. We’ve been tracking similar threads in other coverage, such as our rumour about Xbox locking down big single-player games and a leaked doc suggesting Microsoft could bring Xbox 360 games to PC, which frame a broader industry context for cancellations and internal shifts.
Why This Matters
Even if Contraband is gone, seeing early work — allegedly dated and preserved in another title's Beta — gives us rare transparency into what might have been. For fans, it’s bittersweet: a tangible reminder of a cancelled vision. For developers and industry watchers, it’s a small case study in how prototypes and test worlds can survive, migrate, or be exposed in unexpected ways.
We remain intrigued, cautiously optimistic about more evidence emerging, and keen to learn whether this is an isolated curiosity or a symptom of broader internal practices. For now, enjoy the glimpses reportedly captured in that leaked build, and take everything here with a degree of skepticism until further verification turns up.
