Veteran Rare designer and director Gregg Mayles is reportedly leaving the studio in the wake of yesterday's sweeping Xbox staff and project cuts, which included the long-in-development title Everwild.
As reported by VGC, Mayles' departure concludes a highly influential 35-year career at Rare. His tenure spanned the studio's origins, working on NES titles like Battletoads, through its N64 golden age where he contributed to character designs such as Diddy Kong.
Best known as the director of the N64 classic Banjo-Kazooie, Mayles most recently served as creative director on the hit pirate adventure Sea of Thieves. For the past four years, he had been leading development on Everwild, Rare's long-gestating fantasy follow-up that has now been officially canceled.
Microsoft has now confirmed Everwild's cancellation, ending a six-year public journey since its announcement and roughly a decade of total work by Rare. Producer Louise O'Connor, who has been with Rare for over two decades, is also reportedly departing.
IGN has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
The last trailer for Everwild, released in July 2020, described it as "a brand new IP from Rare" promising "a unique and unforgettable experience in a natural and magical world." Earlier this year, Xbox head Phil Spencer mentioned he had visited the studio to check on the game's progress, stating, "It’s nice to see the team with Everwild and the progress that they’re making."
Yesterday afternoon, Xbox officially confirmed the cancellation of Everwild in a company-wide email from Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty. The email also confirmed the cancellation of The Initiative's Perfect Dark reboot and other unannounced projects, including a new MMO from ZeniMax Online Studios.
"We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio," Booty wrote.
"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.
"We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment."
