Microsoft’s big weekend Xbox & Bethesda E3 Games Showcase delivered a lot of announcements, but a number of big projects were also missing from the show. Some, like Hellblade 2, may very well be shown soon, but it seems we may be waiting a long time to see or hear more about Rare’s Everwild. According to the reliable folks at Video Games Chronicle, Everwild development has been “restarted from scratch” following the departure of the game’s original creative director Simon Woodroffe last year. Apparently, Rare is now aiming “optimistically” for a 2024 release. So yeah, hope you’re cool with sticking to Sea of Thieves for a while Rare fans.
There is some potentially encouraging news though, as Rare veteran Gregg Mayles has now taken over as Everwild creative director. Mayles has a long and impressive resume, acting as lead designer or director on classics such as Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, and Sea of Thieves. If you’re looking for the source of that classic Rare magic, well, a lot of it came from Mayles, so him taking over Everwild should be a good thing. While you’re free to take this report with a grain of salt, Everwild producer Louise O’Connor did officially confirm Mayles is taking over the game…
The team behind Everwild continue to shape a truly magical experience and remain focused and excited about creating a new game centred around a truly unique, new world. Gregg Mayles joined us, late last year as Creative Director, and the team has never been stronger. Since showing the world our Eternals trailer, we have been making progress on all aspects of Everwild. The team continues to work hard to realise our vision and to bring the magic of nature in Everwild to life for players around the world.
As recently as this past summer, Rare admitted they didn’t really have a clear vision for Everwild and were still “playing around with gameplay ideas”. Hopefully, Mayles can help lay down a solid structure around the project’s beautiful visual style and vague promises to foster “connectedness” between players.
Platforms and a release window have yet to be revealed for Everwild. What do you think? Still interesting in the project or has the rocky development turned you off?
