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 game Everwild, Rare shared a new announcement for Sea of Thieves. That's not to say that Sea of Thieves crossing over with Pirates of the Caribbean isn't exciting, it just left a lot of Rare fans wondering where Everwild was. A new report may have an answer, with Rare apparently rebooting Everwild's development.
First reported by GamesBeat's Jeff Grubb and since confirmed by VGC, Rare is said to be "starting from scratch" on Everwild'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 the development of Sea 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.
The reboot comes as a result of the departure of Everwild's previous 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 on Everwild alone. He then resigned prior to October 2020 with no official explanation for his departure. VGC also reports that following Woodroffe's resignation, the Everwild team's senior leadership has seen significant changes.
Little is known about Everwild'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 that Everwild wouldn't feature any combat and that the design struggled as a result.
The big lingering question no that Everwild's development is said to be moving forward again is how much work was done prior and how much is being retained. For example, if art director Ryan Stevenson is 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 from 2020's Xbox E3 press conference were missing this year. For most of them, it's just a matter of not being ready to show more of the game yet. For Everwild, the situation is much sadder to hear. Rare fans may be waiting a couple of years to find out what Everwild has become.
Everwild is in development.
Source: VGC