As another round of layoffs hit Xbox, Microsoft cancels Rare's long in development Everwild

[iamthemilkman]

Rare’s Everwild Reportedly Canceled

This sounded pretty cool and ambitious. It reminds me of when B.C. was canceled for the original Xbox. Definitely the biggest Xbox project to get canceled since Scalebound. Very disappointing.

 

[dem6n dem6n]

Phil Spencer is a monumental failure, a garbage person. This is the memo he sent out to staff.

Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues across our organization. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Out of respect for those impacted today, the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.

I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we’re seeing currently is based on tough decisions we’ve made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.

Prioritizing our opportunities is essential, but that does not lessen the significance of this moment. Simply put, we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted. These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved. Our momentum is not accidental—it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams.

HR is working directly with impacted employees to provide severance plan benefits (aligned with local laws), including pay, healthcare coverage, and job placement resources to support their transition. Employees whose roles were eliminated are encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given priority review.

Thank you to everyone who has shaped our culture, our products, and our community. We will move forward with deep appreciation and respect for all who have contributed to this journey.

Phil

 

[iamthemilkman]

Phil Spencer is a monumental failure, a garbage person. This is the memo he sent out to staff.

I have no idea how Spencer, Booty, Bond, etc., weren't sacked years ago. Given dwindling console sales, Game Pass not becoming as dominant as they were hoping, and first-party games failing to deliver or even release, their leadership has been disastrous for the brand. If it wasn't for them buying Zenimax and Activision, their first-party would be even worse.

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

Let's be honest here when has Rare made a GOOD game? How long has it been? I wouldn't put it past me that their new game was going to be good anyway. It looks pretty but it's probably some multiplayer grindfest with barely any players on considering its on XBOX.
Microsoft did them a favor

 

[Frickinfrik]

Wow! Thanks Microsoft! Thank you for canceling a game people worked their asses off on! Fuck Microsoft.

 

[bigstinkie]

Let's be honest here when has Rare made a GOOD game?

i believe they made the game called sea of thieves, which was a fun social game. i has some fond cheeseburger flavoured memories playing that game with a few friends

 

[ciro64]

Rareware/Rare has to be the most sabotaged studio ever. I lost count of how many times they just wanted to make their game but their superiors wouldn't let them.

 

[Frickinfrik]

Rareware/Rare has to be the most sabotaged studio ever. I lost count of how many times they just wanted to make their game but their superiors wouldn't let them.

If only greedy ass Microsoft never purchased them… we’ve would’ve gotten more Banjo, Conker, and DK games from them if they were still an independent company.

 

[HextarVigar]

Phil Spencer is a monumental failure, a garbage person. This is the memo he sent out to staff.

"PS: If you're reading this, you're fired. Clear out your desk and get the fuck out of my company. You have one hour."

 

[dem6n dem6n]

"PS: If you're reading this, you're fired. Clear out your desk and get the fuck out of my company. You have one hour."

My favorite part is when he added that they're following the law regarding distributing severance packages. Great line.

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

Let's be honest here when has Rare made a GOOD game? How long has it been? I wouldn't put it past me that their new game was going to be good anyway. It looks pretty but it's probably some multiplayer grindfest with barely any players on considering its on XBOX.
Microsoft did them a favor

Absolutely true .
The old gaming companies not only lost touch with the times and their fans/communities but their truly creative best of the best Studios too by letting those rot with no Input whatsoever and/or changing the devs with alot of rather unexperienced and unambitous ones that take game-dev jobs as the equivalent of an McDonalds-job of the IT-world . And even that ist just the tip of the iceberg.

The lay-offs are still a symptome of a long-rooted illness that MS had since the Classic Xbox . Not only greed but incompetence in Marketing and killing off potentially huge hits while letting shovelware being made .

Scalebound and the Conker-sequel coming to my mind which we're awesome but cancled , while Redfall , Kinect shovelware Made by rare and Halo Infinite are the shovelware we got .

I dont wanna start looking at the games-graveyard of Unseen64 again for more reasons why MS were absolute idiots .
I dont want to be angry and sad right now .

 

[ciro64]

If only greedy ass Microsoft never purchased them… we’ve would’ve gotten more Banjo, Conker, and DK games from them if they were still an independent company.

Nintendo was a greedy ass too for selling Rare and shoving Star Fox and Gamecube into Dinossaur Planet... oh well, at least we got the best waifu ever

 

[iamthemilkman]

Let's be honest here when has Rare made a GOOD game? How long has it been? I wouldn't put it past me that their new game was going to be good anyway. It looks pretty but it's probably some multiplayer grindfest with barely any players on considering its on XBOX.
Microsoft did them a favor

While Sea of Thieves isn't my kinda game since I'm not into online live service games -- though I did play that single player Monkey Island thing they added a little while back and enjoyed it -- it's undoubtedly a "good game," if not a great game.

I bet it's their best selling/most played game ever made, too.

 

[Viviana Santos]

Man, that's sad, the game looked very promising, but it's a good example of how Microsoft mistreats Rareware, considering the many projects and game concepts they created that were rejected by Microsoft.

---

But to this day, I'm still pissed off about what happened to Scalebound.

 

[trickybus]

I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we’re seeing currently is based on tough decisions we’ve made previously.

But also:

Simply put, we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted.

First of all, pick one Spencer.

Second, I seriously doubt that managerial decisions have had any significant or positive impact on operations seeing as your definition of a "good" business decision is to take the people whose work you profit off of and throw them out on their asses. While you admit that the gaming department is doing well.

 

[iamthemilkman]

I have a feeling the new Perfect Dark is going to get canceled. It's been in development for a long time, they built a new studio to make it, when said studio started to have troubles, they partnered with Crystal Dynamics in 2021.

It seems like most Xbox games that I get really interested in either go through development hell and come out in rough shape or get canceled.

Even when Xbox was the Halo/Gears/Forza/Fable brand, they used to be able to at least get those right. Now they can't get Halo right and haven't gotten it right for a decade, the Forza Motorsport games were always quality but the recent one released in a terrible state, and Gears is solid but not as good as the OG trilogy.

 

[ciro64]

Rare isn't involved in the new perfect dark though. But I suppose their mascots have a cursed fate even when at the hands of someone else.

 

[moonbits]

I mean, you could ramble all you want about the industry and Phil Spencer but a project started in 2019 without anything to show after 6 years. What the heck is Rare doing?

 

[iamthemilkman]

Rare isn't involved in the new perfect dark though. But I suppose their mascots have a cursed fate even when at the hands of someone else.

I shouldn't have said anything. Literally just reported after I posted that...

Perfect Dark Canceled, Studio Shuttered

 

[Roy U. OmOm]

View attachment 86279

Rare’s Everwild Reportedly Canceled

This sounded pretty cool and ambitious. It reminds me of when B.C. was canceled for the original Xbox. Definitely the biggest Xbox project to get canceled since Scalebound. Very disappointing.

Looks like a release day no mens sky level of scam. Trust me, nothing worth of value was lost.

Usually, when a game's opening trailer doesn't showcase the gameplay and not even a hint of it's game mechanics, that's because there weren't any to begin with.

 

[ciro64]

I shouldn't have said anything. Literally just reported after I posted that...
View attachment 86331

Perfect Dark Canceled, Studio Shuttered

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ME AND MY BIG MOUTH

I wasn't really that interested in the game, but this still breaks my heart

 

[trickybus]

I mean, you could ramble all you want about the industry and Phil Spencer but a project started in 2019 without anything to show after 6 years. What the heck is Rare doing?

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't development hell situations usually the result of poor management as opposed to something the developers were or weren't doing?

 

[moonbits]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't development hell situations usually the result of poor management as opposed to something the developers were or weren't doing?

Nah, Rare has done this shit since you and I were lil kids. They take forever to cement an idea or concept and that shit doesn't fly with the current industry. Sea of Thieves went through the same shit but they actually released, in a horrible state but it released

Contrary to popular gamer belief, Microsoft doesn't step on their developer's toes. They just expect results. The guys that made State of Decay mentioned this a couple of times.

 

[bigstinkie]

Contrary to popular gamer belief, Microsoft doesn't step on their developer's toes. They just expect results.

did the studio who made hi-fi rush get shut down due to poor results? i have not played the game but i thought it did well critically and financially

 

[Viviana Santos]

did the studio who made hi-fi rush get shut down due to poor results? i have not played the game but i thought it did well critically and financially

Tango Gameworks was supposedly shutdown due to a restructuring effort focused on prioritizing "blockbuster" titles.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 6:43 PM

I'm not joking btw, that's literally the reason why Tango Gameworks was shut down.