Another Xbox studio reacts to the layoffs exploding around it: with Rare's Everwild dead, Sea of Thieves dev says "it's impossible for something like this not to ripple through the studio"

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"It would be strange to jump straight into our usual updates without acknowledging the news that we've ended development on Everwild here at Rare"

Everwild
(Image credit: Rare)

Sea of Thieves studio Rare is the next Xbox studio to respond to the recent Microsoft layoffs and in this case, specifically the cancelation of the action-adventure game Everwild.

Everwild, first announced in 2019 with a development story going all the way back to 2014, was one of the many casualties of Microsoft's recent downsizing, which resulted in the loss of around 9,000 jobs. We didn't see a whole lot of Everwild in the years since its reveal, but what little we did see of its colorful fantasy world was mighty promising, making its cancelation all the more disappointing for Rare diehards.

Sea of Thieves Developer Update: July 15th 2025 - YouTube Sea of Thieves Developer Update: July 15th 2025 - YouTube
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The layoffs at Xbox resulted in the cancelation of the Perfect Dark reboot and the shuttering of developer The Initiative, the downsizing of Forza studio Turn 10's workforce by about 50%, and the cancelation of an unannounced ZeniMax Online MMO. Longtime ZeniMax Online studio director Matt Firor of 18 years left the studio in the wake of the news, and later, the studio's union issued a statement on the cancelation, saying "a future has been stolen."

"It's impossible for something like this not to ripple through the studio and affect us all in some way or another, so please bear with us," added Stevens. "And on that, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's reached out to check in on us and share their kind words of support. Genuinely, thank you, it really means a lot."

As bummed as I am about Everwild, I really do appreciate that Rare took the time to acknowledge the situation instead of just pretending like nothing's happened. I can't fathom the pain and uncertainty at Xbox studios like Rare right now, and I can only hope that being able to continue work on Sea of Thieves gives the developers some sense of poetic escape similar to the whimsical distraction the open seas have provided players like me for years and years.

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Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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