Rare’s Canceled Xbox Title Everwild Finally Seen In Leaked Screenshots

Earlier this year, Xbox underwent a massive internal shift resulting in a number of projects getting canceled, a great deal of employees being laid off, and at least one studio closure. Among the damage done was the cancelation of Everwild, a third-person fantasy game that underwent a turbulent development cycle before having the plug pulled on it.

At the time of its cancelation, we’d only ever seen two trailers of the game. Details of the project outside of these atmospheric teasers were scarce and it seemed like we would hear very little after its untimely demise. Now though, it appears that screenshots of some early builds have leaked, at last giving players some idea of the game they’ll never get to play.

First reported by MP1st, the screenshots come by way of an artist that once worked on the title at Rare, and reportedly resemble a version of the game close to its cancelation. In these screenshots, you can make out the game’s cel-shaded art style, as well as some elements of its menu and UI, which detail some kind of farming/survival mechanics.

In a seemingly early build of Everwild, we get our first glimpse at a menu that is divided into tools, seeds, and figments. The latter two appear to be consumables of some sorts, with Figments specifically looking like deployable critters of some sort that come in various types, while the toolbar suggests items that the player might use more regularly, especially if Everwild was to support some sort of farming element. Reportedly, the game was being developed as a third-person title with God game and survival mechanics.

Another screenshot shows a more developed and artistically rendered version of the same menu, though this time it also features tabs hinting at other items the player could use such as mosaics and plants alongside tools, figments, and seeds. One even shows a bit of flavor text for an item called a shrub seed which pokes fun at the player’s intelligence.

Among the leaked images is one showing off a number of Everwild’s settings. Interestingly, MP1st notes that according to the website where the images were found, Rare was going to use player data from Sea of Thieves, its ongoing pirate live-service game, to inform its settings for Everwild, though specific examples of this philosophy aren’t mentioned.

Most of the remaining screenshots show off some glimpses at the game’s environment, though they also give away painfully little. In one image, the player seems to stand before a structure in a sea of fog while another provides a blurry glimpse at a forested area. Even if the images are of an early build, Everwild sure was nailing the naturalistic ambience of its cinematics.

Unfortunately, I expect these screenshots will be all we get out of Everwild for a long time. Still, I’m glad we got to see it at all, and now many can finally imagine a more concrete version of this regrettably axed title.