Rather than doing the humane and dignified thing of telling thousands of people all at once whether or not they’re going to have a job tomorrow, Xbox is laying off over 9,100 employees today in waves. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer told workers in an email message (thanks, IGN) that this is to “position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas.” Now, it seems that these layoffs also signal the end of at least one project at Xbox Studios: Rare’s Everwild.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier says the action-adventure game was canceled “according to people familiar” with the situation. Everwild was officially announced almost six years ago, and was described as a mix between action-adventure and Rare’s cult hit Viva Piñata. Schreier described the game as “troubled,” having been in development for over a decade. While Spencer had given positive updates on the game as recently as last year, Everwild has been conspicuously absent from most of Xbox’s showcases since 2020. VGC reported the game had been completely rebooted by 2021, but it seems unlikely that we’ll see whatever the team was cooking unless Rare decides to release some kind of behind-the-scenes look at the game that never was.
Rare was one of Xbox’s earliest acquisitions, with the company buying the historically Nintendo-aligned studio way back in 2002. Since then, the much-beloved team has had a much spottier record. Though some great games have stood out over the past two decades, like Viva Piñata and the lively pirate multiplayer game Sea of Thieves, much of the studio’s Xbox era has been defined by a constantly shifting identity and foundational talent leaving the studio. At the moment, it’s unclear how Rare will be affected by these ongoing layoffs at Microsoft.
Update, 7/2/25, 2:45 p.m. EST: A new story from VGC reports that Gregg Mayles, the director of Sea of Thieves and one of the longest-serving members of Rare’s staff, has left the company after 36 years following the cancelation of Everwild. Mayles has credits on nearly every Rare game since 1990’s Solar Jetman for the NES. Everwild producer Louise O’Connor is also reportedly leaving the studio.
