Rare was part of the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase in a big way, but not in the way many expected. Instead of showing off its in-development gameEverwild, Rare shared a new announcement forSea of Thieves. That’s not to say thatSea of Thievescrossing over withPirates of the Caribbeanisn’t exciting, it just left a lot of Rare fans wondering whereEverwildwas. A new report may have an answer, with Rare apparently rebootingEverwild’s development.
First reported by GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb and since confirmed by VGC, Rare is said to be “starting from scratch” onEverwild’s development. In other words,Everwild’s entire direction and design are being started over on. The project is now being headed by Rare Senior Creative Director Gregg Mayles, who also creatively led thedevelopment ofSea of Thieves. Due to the reboot,Everwild’s new “optimistic” release window is in 2024. Suffice to say, it had good reason for missing E3 2021.
RELATED:Rare Has Ambitious Plans for Its Everwild Game
The reboot comes as a result of thedeparture ofEverwild’sprevious creative director, Simon Woodroffe. Woodroffe is described as having joined Rare in 2012 to lead the creative direction of the entire studio, though he would eventually be moved to working onEverwildalone. He then resigned prior to October 2020 with no official explanation for his departure. VGC also reports that following Woodroffe’s resignation, theEverwildteam’s senior leadership has seen significant changes.
Little is known aboutEverwild’s design. It’s said that the game was a third-person fantasy adventure prioritizing harmony with nature as a theme, but a “clear direction” for the project was apparently lacking. VGC also says that one source claimed that developers were told thatEverwildwouldn’t feature any combat and that the design struggled as a result.
The big lingering question no thatEverwild’s development is said to be moving forward again is how much work was done prior and how much is being retained. For example, ifart director Ryan Stevensonis still on the project, it’s possible that a good amount of work is finished and can be reused. If not, then not only is Rare throwing a lot of work away, but even the game’s announcement trailers will have to be ignored.
Many of the biggest games from2020’s Xbox E3 press conferencewere missing this year. For most of them, it’s just a matter of not being ready to show more of the game yet. ForEverwild, the situation is much sadder to hear. Rare fans may be waiting a couple of years to find out whatEverwildhas become.
Everwildis in development.
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