Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios had a Crimson Desert-like game in the works but “every publisher just shut the door”
Avalanche Studios, the developer behind the Just Cause franchise, had a fantasy open-world game in development during the late 2000s called AionGuard that never reached players due to publishing rejection.
According to Christofer Sundberg, Avalanche’s former chief creative officer, AionGuard featured dragon-riding and other gameplay elements that closely paralleled the recently successful Crimson Desert. Sundberg stated the cancelled game contained “everything” that Crimson Desert eventually delivered, suggesting it possessed viable appeal had it received publisher backing.
The project fell victim to the unpredictable publishing landscape, with multiple publishers declining to fund the title. Sundberg recounted particularly dismissive behavior from one publishing partner, who ended the relationship via text message—highlighting the sometimes cavalier treatment of game projects by the industry.
The cancellation illustrates a recurring issue in game development: creatively sound projects are shelved not due to fundamental flaws, but because publishers lack confidence or fail to recognize market potential. Crimson Desert’s subsequent success and strong audience reception raises questions about what AionGuard might have achieved with adequate publisher support. The story underscores how many potentially worthwhile games are lost to publishing indifference and shifting industry priorities, with only interviews and developer retrospectives remaining as evidence of their existence.