It’s always a sad day when a promising game gets canceled, but it’s especially poignant for a game as enigmatic and visually stunning as Rare’s Everwild. First announced in 2019, the game captivated players with its ethereal art style and a promise of a unique connection with nature. After years of troubled development and at least one major reboot, Microsoft officially pulled the plug in July 2025. Now, months later, the first in-game screenshots have leaked online, giving us our first and likely last look at what the developers at Rare were creating.
The Leaked Images: A Look at the UI and In-Game World
The screenshots, first reported by MP1st, appear to have originated from the online portfolio of an artist who worked on the project. They offer a concrete look at the game’s user interface (UI) and some in-engine glimpses of the world. While the images are reportedly from a pre-alpha build close to the game’s cancellation, they reveal some key ideas.
The UI screenshots show an inventory system with several intriguing tabs:
- Plants & Seeds: These tabs strongly suggest a core gameplay loop involving gathering, planting, and cultivation, similar in spirit to Rare’s classic Viva Piñata.
- Figments: The trailers showed players interacting with magical creatures, and the ‘Figments’ tab seems to be where these would be managed. The icons show small, onion-headed creatures, with one being specifically labeled a ‘Light Figment,’ hinting at an elemental system.
- Tools & Mosaics: These suggest crafting and building systems, adding another layer to the potential gameplay.
The in-engine shots, though blurry, showcase the game’s beautiful, stylized world, with a player character standing near a mysterious stone circle and in front of a temple-like structure. It’s a bittersweet look at a world we’ll now never get to fully explore.
A Troubled Development and an Unclear Vision
So, why was a game this beautiful and unique canceled after so many years? The simple answer is that the team could never quite figure out what you were supposed to *do* in it. Reports from behind the scenes described a development hell where the core gameplay loop was never nailed down. The game was rebooted in 2021 with new leadership, but even then, the direction remained unclear.
Some former developers described it as a non-violent game focused on nurturing the world, a ‘spiritual successor’ to Viva Piñata but on a much grander, AAA scale. This lack of a clear, compelling gameplay vision is often a death sentence for a project of this size, and it seems that after nearly a decade in some form of development, Microsoft decided to cut its losses.
A Loss for Gaming and Rare’s Legacy
The cancellation of Everwild was a major blow. It resulted in significant layoffs at Rare and the departure of one of the studio’s most influential and longest-serving designers, Gregg Mayles, the mind behind classics like Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie. It’s a sad chapter for a legendary studio.
For gamers, it’s the loss of a potentially bold and different kind of AAA experience. In a market saturated with sequels and shooters, Everwild promised something quieter, more creative, and truly new. These leaked screenshots are a final, poignant reminder of that lost potential.
Your Questions About the Everwild Leak (FAQs)
- What was Everwild? It was an adventure game in development at Rare (the studio behind Sea of Thieves and Banjo-Kazooie) that was focused on exploring a magical world and interacting with its fantasy creatures.
- Is the game officially canceled? Yes, Microsoft confirmed the cancellation of Everwild in July 2025 as part of wider company layoffs.
- What do the leaked screenshots show? They show the game’s UI, including an inventory with tabs for plants, seeds, and ‘Figments’ (the game’s creatures), as well as some blurry in-engine shots of the world.
- Why was it canceled? Reports suggest the game suffered from a prolonged and troubled development, with the team unable to establish a clear and compelling core gameplay loop.
- What is Rare working on now? The studio continues to support its massively successful live-service pirate game, Sea of Thieves. It is currently unclear what their next major new project will be.
- Could Everwild ever come back? It’s highly unlikely. The cancellation was definitive, and key members of the team have since left the studio.
Conclusion
The story of Everwild is a cautionary tale about the realities of AAA game development. An amazing art style and an intriguing concept are not enough to carry a project if the fundamental gameplay isn’t there. These leaked screenshots serve as a final, beautiful eulogy for a game that we’ll only ever get to dream about. It’s a look into a lost world and a reminder of the creative risks that don’t always pay off, no matter how much we wish they would.