Latest news with #Everwild
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Microsoft bloodbath continues 9,000 layoffs later with the death of Contraband, the '70s co-op game from the studio behind open-world hit Just Cause, and it seems Hideo Kojima's OD is the only thing that's safe
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Avalanche Studios has confirmed that development on Contraband, the Xbox-exclusive '70s co-op game, has ended. The news comes a month after mass layoffs at Microsoft affecting 9,000 employees, which included many in the gaming division and led to the cancellation of projects like Everwild and the long-delayed Perfect Dark. "Over the past several years, Avalanche Studios Group and Xbox Game Studios Publishing have collaborated on Contraband," the developer says in a statement. "Active development has now stopped while we evaluate the project's future. We're thankful for the excitement we've seen from the community since we announced and will give an update on what's next as soon as we can." Insiders Jason Schreier and Stephen Totilo both report that the end of development was a Microsoft decision, though they say other Xbox publishing agreements with third-party studios – including Hideo Kojima's OD – are still alive. "Microsoft declined to provide a comment on the game's fate," Totillo says in his Game File newsletter, "but a source familiar with the matter noted that production—which is now 'on hold'—had been ongoing for five years and that the company avoids cancellations as much as possible." Contraband was announced back at E3 2021 – yes, the announcement is old enough that E3 still existed – with a brief teaser trailer and the promise of "a co-op smuggler's paradise." Effectively zero details on how the game would play were ever revealed, but Avalanche's pedigree in open-world chaos with titles like Just Cause and Mad Max had many hopeful about the possibilities of the studio taking on a co-op game. But it seems we'll never see what the studio had in store. "This is a monumental moment": Weeks after Microsoft laid off 9,000, Call of Duty devs vote to ratify union contract guaranteeing raises as the publisher pushes AI.
The Star
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Xbox drops work on 'Contraband' video game after four years
Xbox has said little about Contraband since the game was announced in 2021 with a vague teaser. It was described on the company's website as 'a co-op smuggler's paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan'. — Photo by Sam Pak on Unsplash Microsoft Corp's Xbox gaming unit is cancelling Contraband , a multiplayer video game that was in development for years at the Swedish company Avalanche Studios Group. "Active development has now stopped while we evaluate the project's future,' Avalanche said Thursday in a statement on its website. "We're thankful for the excitement we've seen from the community since we announced and will give an update on what's next as soon as we can.' Xbox has said little about Contraband since the game was announced in 2021 with a vague teaser. It was described on the company's website as "a co-op smuggler's paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan'. Avalanche is best known for the Just Cause series, in which players parachute around a massive open world. The cancellation follows hundreds of job cuts at Xbox last month, as well as the axing of major titles that had been in development for years, including Perfect Dark , Everwild and an online game code-named Blackbird . – Bloomberg
Metro
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Rare 40th anniversary merch is a depressing reminder of how far they've fallen
Attempts by Rare to celebrate its ruby anniversary double as a tragic reminder of the state of the studio under Microsoft. Given how often game studios get shut down nowadays, it's almost a miracle for one to successfully stay open for 40 years. Case in point: Sea Of Thieves developer Rare. Although there's no exact date for its founding, Rare has chosen today to celebrate its ruby anniversary, complete with an unveiling of a heritage plaque in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, the English hometown of Rare's predecessor Ultimate Play the Game. The studio has announced a handful of ways for fans to partake in the celebrations, including a fancy new Xbox controller that's available for purchase alongside a range of other merchandise. The new controller, courtesy of 8bitdo, sports the same blue and gold colouring as Rare's logo. While its pattern appears to only reference Sea Of Thieves, you can spot puzzle pieces and feathers on the controller too, alluding to the old Banjo-Kazooie platformers. You can buy the controller from 8bitdo's website, which does ship to the UK, although it will set you back $89.99, which is roughly £68, and that's not including any potential shipping costs. Rare has also partnered with Fangamer on a new range of merchandise, and the Xbox Wire news post mentions plans for a 40th anniversary vinyl collection from iam8bit and an Evercade cartridge collection of 12 retro Rare games. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Some themed cosmetics are coming to Sea Of Thieves as well, alongside the game's next season, Smugglers' Tide, which begins on August 14. This includes a 40th anniversary bundle and multiple ruby themed items (including a hat and an eyepatch). Plus, starting from August 6, the in-game store will see discounts on items inspired by old Rare games while Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to claim an exclusive emote. Lastly, a celebratory piece of art featuring multiple Rare characters is available as an Xbox dynamic background alongside new profile pics for your account. 40 years of @ devoted Rare gamers to single-series stalwarts, we want to show our appreciation for anyone who's visited even just one of our worlds. For keeping an assorted ragtag of creatives working magic in the Midlands, only two words will do: THANK YOU 💙💛 — Rare Ltd. (@RareLtd) August 4, 2025 Such celebrations ring a tad hollow though, considering this comes just one month after Microsoft saw fit to let go hundreds of Xbox employees and cancel several projects. Rare itself wasn't untouched by this, with its next game – Everwild – amongst those cancelled. A new Banjo-Kazooie was also rumoured to be in the works, but that's apparently been canned too. More Trending And while he wasn't laid off, Everwild and Sea Of Thieves director Gregg Mayles, one of Rare's longest running staff members, opted to leave the studio at that exact moment, missing out on the 40th anniversary. Even the new art is depressing to look at, since the majority of the characters featured haven't had a new game in years and likely never will. Seeing Perfect Dark protagonist Joanna Dark especially hurts since a Perfect Dark reboot was in the works at another studio, The Initiative, but that studio was completely shut down as part of the layoffs, with the reboot dying with it. With Everwild's cancellation, Rare doesn't have any new games on its schedule. So, unless it or Microsoft announce otherwise, the studio is currently committed to updating Sea Of Thieves and nothing else. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Xbox bosses loved a game so much they canned it and sacked all the developers MORE: Xbox games for Switch 2 'expected' soon ahead of rumoured Nintendo Direct MORE: Xbox console sales are even worse than thought according to latest estimates
Time of India
29-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to 15,000+ employees fired this year: "For that, I am ..."
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella delivered a sobering message to employees Wednesday as the company announced its fourth round of layoffs this year, eliminating 9,000 more positions and bringing total workforce reductions to over 15,000 this year. "Before anything else, I want to speak to what's been weighing heavily on me, and what I know many of you are thinking about: the recent job eliminations. These decisions are among the most difficult we have to make. They affect people we've worked alongside, learned from, and shared countless moments with—our colleagues, teammates, and friends," Nadella wrote in an internal memo addressing the latest cuts affecting 4% of Microsoft's 228,000 global workforce. The CEO continued: "I want to express my sincere gratitude to those who have left. Their contributions have shaped who we are as a company, helping build the foundation we stand on today. And for that, I am deeply grateful." Microsoft cuts 15,000+ jobs across multiple divisions despite record profits The year-long elimination spree began with performance-based cuts in earlier in the year, escalated with 6,000 layoffs in May targeting software engineers and project managers, continued with 300+ June reductions, and culminated in Wednesday's 9,000-person reduction. The gaming division suffered the heaviest losses, with over 3,000 positions eliminated since Microsoft's $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition closed in 2023. High-profile casualties include The Initiative studio's complete closure, cancellation of anticipated titles Perfect Dark and Everwild, and 200 job cuts at King, maker of Candy Crush. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer told gaming employees the cuts would "position Gaming for enduring success" while acknowledging the timing during Microsoft's strongest gaming performance period. Despite the workforce reductions, Microsoft reported $25.8 billion in quarterly net income with 18% year-over-year growth, maintaining its position among the S&P 500's most profitable companies. AI revolution drives management restructuring as technology writes 30% of code Nadella addressed the apparent contradiction between strong financial performance and mass layoffs, describing it as "the enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value." The CEO emphasised Microsoft's transformation from a "software factory to an intelligence engine" while the company invests $80 billion in AI infrastructure this fiscal year. The strategic shift reflects AI's growing role in Microsoft's operations, with artificial intelligence now writing up to 30% of code in some company projects. Microsoft has systematically targeted middle management layers to eliminate organizational barriers and increase decision-making speed, mirroring similar restructuring efforts by Amazon and Meta. Affected employees receive comprehensive severage packages including healthcare coverage and job placement assistance, with priority consideration for other Microsoft positions. The restructuring aligns with Microsoft's new fiscal year launch, when the company traditionally announces major organisational changes.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
After 11 years of development, 6 years of marketing, and a full reboot, Rare's Everwild has been canceled amid mass Xbox layoffs – 5 months after Phil Spencer's assurances it's making "progress"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Everwild, the gorgeous but mysterious Rare title first announced back in 2019, has been canceled amid the mass layoffs happening today at Xbox. Rare has not yet confirmed the news, but three separate reports now suggest that the game is, indeed, dead. News of Everwild's cancellation was first reported by VGC, which mentioned that "employees are likely to lose their jobs as part of broader restructuring" at the studio. IGN's sources have also corroborated that the game is canceled, as has Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who first reported on today's Xbox layoffs. We'd seen a handful of trailers for Everwild, which offered promises of a big adventure through a strange world filled with unusual animals. The exact details of the gameplay were never clear, but the almost Studio Ghibli-like vibes were enough to catch plenty of attention. Earlier this year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that the game was still making "progress." Reports circulated that Everwild's development had been rebooted in 2021, though Xbox representatives suggested those reports were "a little more extreme" than the truth. However, those same reports alleged that Everwild had been in some form of development since 2014, and a game rarely spends that long in development without some sort of trouble behind the scenes. What the cancellation and the looming layoffs mean for the future of Rare remains to be seen. The studio has a storied history going back to the British computer scene of the '80s, and was a prolific NES developer in its early days. It developed a close partnership with Nintendo throughout the '90s, during which it created the beloved Donkey Kong Country trilogy for the SNES, as well as titles such as GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and Perfect Dark for the N64. Microsoft's acquisition of Rare in the early '00s shocked the gaming world at the time, and while many of the studio's games under Xbox were quite good - I'll defend Viva Pinata and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts forever - they never made quite the same impact as the earlier Nintendo titles. After years supporting Xbox's ill-fated Kinect peripheral, Rare seemed to finally find its footing with Sea of Thieves, which, while it took some time to really find its footing, proved to be an excellent multiplayer sandbox. Everwild had the potential to be a strong follow-up, but I guess now we'll never know. I expect we'll lose a few more upcoming Xbox Series X games before the day is out. Solve the daily Crossword
