In what’s quickly turning into a grim pattern for Xbox fans, Microsoft has pulled the plug on Everwild — a game that’s been in development limbo for over a decade.
The cancellation, revealed in a company-wide memo from Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty, comes amid fresh waves of mass layoffs across Microsoft’s gaming divisions.
This was before Xbox lead Phil Spencer gave a statement of his own.
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As for Booty’s words, which have been seen and confirmed by IGN, his statement reads:
“Following Phil’s [Spencer] note, I want to share more about the changes to the Studios business units.
We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio. As part of this, we are closing one of our studios, The Initiative.
These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape.
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We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.”
For UK-based developer Rare, best known in recent years for the ongoing pirate adventure Sea of Thieves, the news hits especially hard. Everwild was first teased back in 2019, though development is believed to have started as early as 2014. Since then, updates have been scarce, with only vague mentions of a magical natural world and cryptic trailers that looked stunning but revealed very little.
Fans across Reddit and other social media platforms weren’t exactly shocked by the announcement — but many couldn’t help asking the same question: how did it go on this long?
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For instance, one Reddit user, Torque-A, wrote:
“Honestly, the game has been in development for close to a decade now. It’s surprising that they were able to keep trying it in the first place.
So what’s left for Rare? Sea of Thieves is still active. Part of the team made Playtonic and Yooka-Laylee, but even then their next project is just a remake of that. Perfect Dark is being worked on by another dev (if it hasn’t been cancelled too). Is there any saving grace for them?”
Another user in the same thread, Techboah, echoed the sentiment. They added:
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“No wonder to be honest, [the] game has been in development for 10+ years and they were still in very early production. Can't imagine how much money MS sank into it for nothing.”
While a good number of users in the thread show some understanding for the cancellation, user _Robbie, laid out the case for the tough decision quite clearly from a business perspective: “It's been in development since 2014 and is still nowhere close to release.
Cancellation makes perfect sense in this case. Don't get me wrong, it sucks. But what are they supposed to do? Sink endless millions into a game that is not going to be a huge smash hit anyway?”
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That’s the sentiment that seems to be spreading — disappointment, sure, but also a reluctant empathy. Everwild had promise, but after ten years with little to show and shifting priorities at Microsoft, it was probably always living on borrowed time — making it unfortunate Xbox didn't cancel it sooner if anything. Maybe then, some extra money — and therefore jobs — could've been saved.
The last known trailer, shown almost five years ago at an Xbox Games Showcase, described it as:
“Everwild is a brand new IP from Rare. A unique and unforgettable experience awaits in a natural and magical world.”
Sadly, it now seems like the full vision of that experience may never be known across the gaming community.