Rare’sEverwildhas been canceled amidthousands of layoffs at Xbox. From the legendary development house behindGoldenEye 007,Banjo-Kazooie,Sea of Thieves, and many more,Everwildwas mired in a long, troubled development before being canceled.Everwildwould have originally been an Xbox console exclusive, but its planned release strategy had grown unclear during Microsoft’s move toward multi-platform publishing.
Everwild’s cancellation comes alongside “broader restructuring” of Rare, which includes a portion of the Xbox layoffs, according toVGC. The new IP struggled to narrow its vision during a long development phase starting in 2014, undergoing multiple shifts in focus.Everwildgameplay was never shown off, but various reports indicate it went through iterations taking inspiration from survival and god games, and even turning at one point to hew close to Rare’s 2006 releaseViva Piñata. It’s unclear how many Rare employees have been affected by the layoffs.
Rare’s Everwild Canceled After More Than A Decade In Development
Rare Employees Affected By Layoffs
Everwild’s earliest stages of development began in 2014, but the gamehad not resurfaced for five yearsprior to its cancellation. Earlier this year, CEO of Gaming at Microsoft Phil Spencer spoke aboutEverwildon theXboxEra Podcast, claiming it was “among his most anticipated projects currently being worked on at Xbox,” (again viaVGC). In reference to Rare’sEverwildand other Xbox Game Studios developers Double Fine and Undead Labs, Spencer said the following:
“It has been [a while since Everwild was last shown]. And we’ve been able to give those teams time in what they’re doing which is good and still have a portfolio like we have. It’s like a dream that Matt (Booty) and I have had for a long time, so it’s finally good to be there. We can give those teams time”
Four months later, Spencer has overseen the layoffs at Rare and other studios within Microsoft’s gaming division.Roughly 9,100 employees have been laid off throughout Microsoft, as much as 4% of the multi-trillion-dollar conglomerate’s total workforce. It’s currently unclear what projects Rare will work on moving forward, butSea of Thievesremains ongoing.
Our Take: Layoffs & Everwild Cancellation Speak To Mismanagement At Xbox
Xbox Seems Rudderless
Rare was acquired by Xbox back in 2002, but the layoffs from Microsoft andEverwild’s troubled development indicate widespread issues with Xbox leadership. WhileXbox’s new strategies have promise, leaning toward more traditional publishing and potentially bowing out from home console manufacturing is clearly the result of being dominated in the market by PlayStation and Nintendo.
Xbox wants consumers to believe it has a wide range of must-play experiences following its acquisition spree in the last four years, but it can’t even ship one of Phil Spencer’s most anticipated games after patting itself on the back for being able to “give those teams time” for development. Aside from the continued success ofSea of Thieveswith its PlayStation 5 port, Rare appears to have been floundering duringEverwild’s development, and now employees are being punished for what seems to be an upper management issue.
