Every year, games get announced that create quite a buzz in the industry. Unfortunately, some of these major video games get canceled and are never able to be played by fans. It appears that PlayStation’s Wild might suffer a similar fate, as revealed a report suggests that development on the game has stopped.
Originally announced in 2014, the game was supposed to be a Playstation exclusive. The project was meant to be another title to bolster the PS4’s impressive lineup of exclusive games. However, development for the game wasn’t easy. As the years passed and little was heard of the project, anxious fans of the in-development game began to worry. While rumors started to circulate that the project had ended, job listings for Wild from earlier this year seemed to suggest that the title was still alive. However, that glimmer of hope quickly faded as news from journalist Jeff Grubb seems to confirm that the game is in fact canceled.
According to comments from Grubb in a recent Giant Bomb video, Wild was no longer being produced. “I can confirm that game is fully done. There is no Wild anymore… Wild is dead,” Grubb stated. The journalist went on to note that development of the game ceased soon after its creator Michal Ancel “abandoned” the project. Ancel retired from the video game industry in September of 2020. He also was involved in Beyond Good and Evil 2, which seems to still be in development.
Initially revealed in a trailer at Gamescom, the focus of the project was on survival gameplay. Fans didn’t have to wait long for additional info, as the developers revealed more gameplay for the project in a demo at Paris Games Week 2015. Set in a prehistoric land, the game allowed players to enlist animals to accomplish tasks. The demo for Wild showcased a procedurally generated world as well.
It's worth noting that this report has not been confirmed by Wild Sheep Studio, the makers of Wild. Nevertheless, if this news regarding the end of the game's development is true, this will no doubt be a blow to fans of the PlayStation exclusive project, as there appears to be no chance of the game coming out in the future.
And despite Ancel claiming that his retirement wouldn’t impact the future launches of the games he was involved in, this news of Wild’s supposed cancelation makes the unknown release date for Beyond Good and Evil 2 more concerning. However, gamers can take hope that future games from the developers behind Wild might be in the cards. While this game from the production team seems to have failed, the report claims that they wish to continue to work together on projects in the coming years.
Source: VGC