Everwild is the brand new IP from Sea of Thieves developer Rare which promises to give us our fix of magic and nature.
Revealed during XO19, we don't know a whole lot about what exactly Everwild will entail, as Rare has been pretty tight-lipped when it comes to the specifics of its new game. So far we can only go off from what we've seen from the two trailers that have been released, which seem to paint a pretty good picture of what Everwild's mystical world has in store for us.
Everwild appears to be set in a mystical world, brimming with peculiar creatures, where nature and humans live together in harmony - with Rare calling the relationship between the player and these creatures "symbiotic". But what the gameplay or narrative will involve still remains a mystery.
In addition, while we know Everwild is going to be an Xbox exclusive, coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC, there's still no word on when we'll get our hands on it. We're hoping that 2021 might be the year we get some more solid information, especially as E3 2021 is going ahead and Xbox will be in attendance. Interested to find out more? Then read on for everything we know so far about Everwild.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? A brand new IP from the Rare, the makers of Sea of Thieves
- When can I play it? TBC
- What can I play it on? Xbox Series X/S and PC
Everwild release date
Developer Rare still hasn't confirmed the Everwild release date, but we do know the game will be an Xbox exclusive, coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC.
What's more, Everwild will be an Xbox Series X/S Optimized title, meaning it has been developed to take advantage of the capabilities of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. That means we can expect unparalleled load-times, visuals, responsiveness, and framerates up to 120 fps.
Everwild trailers
Rare's second Everwild trailer was released during the Xbox Games Showcase in July 2020 and revealed more of Everwild's magical world and peculiar creatures, and also introduced us to 'Eternals', the player characters.
While this trailer gives us a closer look at Everwild's world, and highlights that the game seems to hinge on humans and nature working together, it didn't shed much light on the game's actual narrative - or what gameplay will involve. Check it out below (or check out the director's commentary trailer for even more insight into Everwild's world):
Rare announced Everwild with a reveal trailer during Microsoft's XO19 event in November 2019. The first trailer paints a picture of the magical and nature-rich world we'll be exploring in Everwild, which is inhabited by an odd (but beautiful) array of creatures - with some more pleasant than others.
Check it out below:
Everwild news and rumors
Xbox at E3 2021
E3 2021 is going ahead as an all-digital event for the first time and Microsoft is listed as an attendee. Taking place between June 12 and June 15, this time E3 is going to be a mix of streamed press conferences and a four-day live broadcast with interviews and commentary.
Microsoft hasn’t confirmed the date for its press conference just yet and it hasn’t revealed any kind of lineup for the show but as an Xbox exclusive, there’s a chance Everwild could make an appearance. That said, it’s not a guarantee. Everwild is clearly still in the early stages of its development and previous reports have suggested that the game is probably years from being released. It’s quite possible, then, that there won’t be much more to show since the game’s second trailer in 2020 and Microsoft could put more of a focus on games that it expects to release sooner. It would, however, be great to see Xbox provide a little more clarity on what the game is going to be about and E3 is always a great time to showcase highly-anticipated titles.
Hopefully Microsoft’s plans for the show will be revealed in more detail soon, giving more clarity on what we can expect.
It could be years away
Xbox exclusive Everwild is still in the early stages of development and it could be a while before we get the chance to play it. In fact, speaking on a recent VGC Off the Record podcast, industry reporter and head of GamesIndustry.biz Chris Dring said that the game’s release, along with other announced Xbox exclusives, could be many years down the line.
Based on conversations he’s had with employees at Xbox Game Studios, Dring said, “Those games that they announced - Everwild, Perfect Dark, Fable - are so far away. As in, there might even be a new Xbox (a mid-tier upgrade) by the time those games come out.
They are so far away, and no wonder Xbox is looking at investing and signing certain products at the minute, because they don’t have a lineup of big exclusives at all.”
Something the ‘world hasn’t seen before’
Rare’s James Blackham, lead designer on Everwild, has been talking about the game on LinkedIn recently, as spotted by Twitter user IdleSloth. While not much is known about Everwild at the moment, Blackham has said, promoting a job listing for a Senior Game Designer at Rare, that Everwild is “something the world doesn’t have and hasn’t seen before”, adding, “Something unique is brewing at Rare.” T
This bodes well for the game but given Rare is advertising for what could be a pretty crucial role in Everwild’s development, it seems pretty safe to assume that development is still in its early stages.
Everwild is "something the world doesn’t have and hasn’t seen before"Source:https://t.co/sXrEnxzVfU pic.twitter.com/trNQmOHOGMMarch 5, 2021
Creative director leaves the project
Everwild’s creative director, Simon Woodroffe has resigned from Rare and departed the project. As reported by VGC, Microsoft has confirmed Woodroffe’s departure but has said that Everwild development is still in good hands.
Studio head Craig Duncan is quoted as saying,“We thank Simon for all his hard work on Everwild and wish him the very best of luck for the future.
“The Everwild team are in good hands and passionate about building a game that will give players unforgettable experiences in a natural and magical world.”
Rare hasn’t discussed Everwild much ‘because it’s still playing around with gameplay ideas’
Rare has been fairly quiet when it comes to Everwild, but studio head Craig Duncan said in July 2020 that there’s a reason for this. According to Duncan, in an interview with Polygon, Everwild is a “very unique game.”
“We learned a lot from Sea of Thieves,” he said. “At its heart, we love the idea of Sea of Thieves [and] players creating stories together. I think with Everwild, Louise [O’Connor] and her leadership team are really passionate about giving players a world that they can just lose themselves in — you know, a lot of nature feels magical.
“So the notion of, ‘What does it mean to nurture a world? What does it mean to be in nature?’
“Part of the reason we haven’t talked a lot about Everwild is because we’re still feeling a lot of these things out. We’re still playing around with gameplay ideas.
“We’ll have plenty to say in the future on that, but … we have an idea we feel really passionate about, and we think there’s something special. I have a team of people that wake up every morning with the desire to make this game that they’re really, really passionate about.”
Director's Commentary
Speaking in the Director's Commentary video about the Everwild Eternals trailer, Rare executive producer Louise O'Connor and art director Ryan Stevenson shed some more light on what awaits us in Everwild.
In the video, it was explained that player characters are called Eternals - who seem to have a dedicated creature that stays by their side. Stevenson also pointed out that moments we see in the trailer of "connection" between the Eternals and the animals are key to Everwild.
Stevenson explained that the relationship between the Eternals and the bird-like creature which swoops down and takes bread from one of them is "symbiotic", which seems to be one of the main themes of Everwild: the relationship between nature and humans. In some cases, such as with the creature that pulls down trees, it seems the Eternals can use this symbiotic relationship to have creatures help them.
While we don't know exactly what Everwild is about just yet, it seems that the Eternals serve as "protectors" of nature in some way. In the Eternals trailer, we see one Eternal marking around a tree in an effort to protect it from a "swarm of insects" which are slowly going through the world and eating. It's unclear if this will be a key aspect of the story, but it does imply that Everwild will have us fighting to protect nature at least in part.
You can watch the video below:
Everwild will be on Xbox Game Pass
It's been confirmed that Everwild is coming day one to Xbox Game Pass, meaning subscribers will be able to jump into the game for free from launch day (whenever that is).
It's going to be a "unique" game
"While Everwild is still early in development, we are very excited about the unique potential of the game we are creating," Rare studio head Craig Duncan said in an announcement post for the game back in 2019. "The Everwild team is focused on building an experience that allows for new ways to play in a natural and magical world. The development team, led by executive producer Louise O'Connor, is creating something truly original and incredibly special that aims to be more than just a new IP. Everwild will offer memorable, engaging and meaningful experiences for players everywhere to share. We cannot wait to share more with you in the future."
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