Alien Isolation’s lead designer joins Rare to develop Everwild

Gary Napper, the lead designer of Alien Isolation, confirmed this week that he joined Rare as Everwild’s design director.

Following last year’s roadblock set by the departure of the game’s creative director Simon Woodroffe, Everwild’s development team underwent changes. Napper is the latest member to join the team. Although the current state of the project remains uncertain, Napper states his excitement to help develop the promising game.

Thrilled to announce that today I joined Rare as design director on Everwild. Really looking forward to making some amazing things with this incredible team and studio.

Gary Napper

Xbox first announced Everwild with a teaser at their X019 event in 2019. The teaser revealed very little; however, it did show off the game’s beautiful landscape and cartoonish art style. The unique animals and creatures in the trailer further add to the ambiance of the game’s atmosphere.

However, since the announcement trailer, the development cycle has reportedly had some difficulties. While Rare featured an updated trailer at last year’s Xbox Games Showcase, Everwild was notably absent from the Xbox and Bethesda presentation at E3 2021.

Reports from VGC suggest the game restarted its development from scratch upon Woodroffe’s departure. However, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty attempted to reassure fans in an interview with Kinda Funny Games. Booty suggests that the difficulties are normal parts of the creative process.

When you look at it from the outside, when you hear words like reset and maybe restructure, I’ll just say that those are probably a little more definite and a little more extreme than what really happens as a game comes to life.

Matt Booty

While the game’s status remains uncertain, Napper’s successful track record in the industry inspires hope for Everwild’s future.

Via VGC