Phil Spencer provides rare update on missing-in-action Xbox exclusive Everwild

Microsoft’s gaming boss, Phil Spencer, has provided a rare update on Everwild, the Rare-developed Xbox console exclusive that was first announced nearly six years ago.

Sea of Thieves studio Rare first announced the new IP in November 2019 and released another trailer in July 2020, but updates on the game since then have been elusive.

Speaking in a new interview with the Xbox Era podcast, Spencer claimed that the historic British studio was making progress on the game, and named it among his most anticipated projects currently being worked on at Xbox.

Asked to name the in-development games he’s most looking forward to, Spencer answered: “I’ll go back to what I said earlier. Yeah, State of Decay is just one of the franchises I love back from the original one, so that one stays on the board. 

“I do think the work that Double Fine’s doing and how Tim kind of solicits feedback from the team. And the other one, I’ll say because I was recently out at Rare. It’s nice to see the team with Everwild and the progress that they’re making.”

He continued in the Xbox Era interview: “It has been [a while]. And we’ve been able to give those teams time in what they’re doing which is good and still have a portfolio like we have. It’s like a dream that Matt (Booty) and I have had for a long time, so it’s finally good to be there. We can give those teams time”

Back in 2021, VGC sources with knowledge of Everwild’s development claimed the game’s design had essentially been “restarted from scratch”, meaning it would likely be several years before it’s released.

At the time, VGC’s sources claimed Everwild’s development team was “optimistically” targeting a 2024 release for the game, which would mark a decade of development for Everwild, which spent many years in experimental prototyping (obviously, this target date has since slipped).

In response to an advance copy of our story, Everwild’s executive producer Louise O’Connor confirmed elements of the report, including the appointment of designer Gregg Mayles as its new creative director.

Xbox’s then-Game Studios boss Matt Booty later said Rare’s Everwild team wanted to make sure it had “something special” before showing the game publicly again.