Everwild Has Reportedly Been Canceled Following Microsoft Layoffs

Rare’s Everwild has been canceled, according to a new report citing industry sources. The game’s cancellation is possibly related to the latest round of layoffs at Microsoft, which hit the Everwild developer.

November 14 will mark the sixth anniversary of the Everwild announcement, which materialized during the X0 trade show in London. Rare’s descriptions of the game have shifted over time, creating uncertainty about whether Everwild is an action-adventure title, a survival game, or a life sim with similarities to the studio’s iconic Viva Piñata series.

Insider Addresses Rare’s Everwild Game

A noteworthy leaker provides an update on the development of Everwild, the upcoming game from Rare that has gone slient for several years.

Following over a decade’s worth of development, Everwild has been canceled, VGC reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The cancellation is said to be connected to the latest round of layoffs at Microsoft. Officially announced on July 2, the cutbacks will affect as many as 9,000 employees, or about 4% of the company’s workforce. Rare—which Microsoft acquired in 2002—is said to be among the studios affected by the restructuring, as per the same source.

Rare Hasn’t Released a New Game in Half a Decade

The most recent game that Rare was involved in was the 2020 beat-em-up Battletoads. However, it only played a supporting role on that project, with Dlala Studios leading the development. The latest game helmed by Rare was the 2018 live-service pirate adventure Sea of Thieves. Everwild was positioned as a prestige title for Rare’s modern era, but the company reportedly struggled to settle on a gameplay loop for it. According to a prior report from VGC, Everwild was rebooted in 2021, returning to square one design-wise. Gregg Mayles—a Rare veteran with 32 game development credits to his name—was reportedly appointed to lead the project at the time.

Microsoft Claimed Everwild Was Making Progress Just Months Ago

Microsoft claimed Everwild was making progress as recently as February 2025. “It’s nice to see the team with Everwild and the progress that they’re making,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said of his latest Rare studio visit at the time. While he acknowledged that Everwild had been a long time coming by then, he noted that Microsoft’s ability to development teams time is a good thing.

But time appears to have run out for Everwild. The exact cost of the project remains unclear, but with development beginning as early as 2014 and Rare maintaining a staff of over 200 during that time, the investment was likely substantial. How the British studio will reposition itself post-Everwild remains to be seen. For now, Sea of Thieves continues to perform well—particularly following its recent multi-platform expansion—but Rare’s long-term direction remains uncertain.