One ofRare’s longest-tenured game developers is reportedly leaving the company following the recent announcement that his work in progress,Everwild, has been canceled. Gregg Mayles has spent more than 35 years working atRare, andEverwildwould have marked the 30th credit he shared with the development team.
Everwildhad been in development since 2014, but after its first seven years, the development cycle was rebooted in 2021 and Mayles was tapped to helm the project as director. It was reported on July 2 thatMicrosoft had canceledEverwildas part of a major restructuring effort that has also resulted in the cancellation of game projects at other studios and the closure ofPerfect Darkdeveloper The Initiative.
According to multiple anonymous sources who spoke withVideo Games Chronicle, but who reportedly work for Rare, Mayles will be leaving the development studio amid asweeping wave of layoffs at Microsoft-owned studios. It is not clear from the anonymous sources whether Mayles will be terminated from his position or if he is choosing to leave of his own volition, but reports state that the current round of layoffs could cut Microsoft’s total workforce by up to 9,000 people, which would equate to roughly one in every 25 current employees. Mayles does not appear to have made a public statement regarding his reported departure.
Longtime Rare Developer Leaving Amid Microsoft Layoffs
Mayles will leave a lasting legacy with Rare as one of its longest-tenured employees and a developer and director of some of its most beloved games. After joining the company in 1989, his first credit was for NES gameSolar Jetman, for which he provided critical feedback. A year later, he received his first developer credit for beat ‘em up brawlerBattletoads, which is still fondly regarded as one ofRare’s hardest games. He first served as game director on the 1998 N64 platformerBanjo-Kazooiebefore revising that role in its 2008 sequel,Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, and he similarly filled the director’s chair for live-service action-adventure gameSea of Thieves, which launched in 2018. Along with Mayles, 20-year Rare veteran Louise O’Connor is also reportedly leaving the company.
In addition toEverwild, the restructuring at Microsoft is reportedly resulting in the cancellation of some other planned games at various studios. The closure of The Initiative comes with thecancellation ofPerfect Dark, which would have been a reboot of the 2000 N64 game originally published and developed by Rare. Additionally, an unannounced MMORPG fromElder Scrolls Onlinedeveloper ZeniMax Online, which has been in development since 2018, is also reportedly canceled.
