PlayStation-exclusive prehistoric adventure Wild has reportedly been cancelled
Following creator Michel Ancel's retirement last year.
Wild, the promising PlayStation-exclusive open-world survival adventure from Wild Sheep Studio, is reportedly no longer in development.
Announced back in 2014 for release on PS4, Wild was due to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment with Rayman and Beyond Good & Evil creator Michel Ancel at the helm - until the famed designer announced his retirement from the games industry in 2020.
Wild only properly surfaced one more time following its announcement - at Paris Games Week in 2015 - and gameplay details remain limited to his day. We do know, however, that players, in the role of a shaman, could possess and play as a variety of wild animals - including a bear, eagle, and snake - and call on the help of deities as they explored the vast, prehistoric world.
It was certainly a striking pitch - and Wild undoubtedly looked lovely in early footage - but, aside from a new image shared in 2017, little was seen of the project following its gameplay reveal.
Now however, some six years later, the project is reportedly cancelled. According to journalist Jeff Grubb, speaking in a Giant Bomb video (thanks VGC), "There is no Wild anymore... Wild is dead". Grubb added, "I think Michel Ancel abandoned the project... he's not working on it anymore, the project got shut down". Ancel, for his part, insisted the Wild team was "autonomous" and that the project was "going super well" at the time of his retirement.
Grubb claims the Wild team "was looking at maybe trying to stay together and work on other projects... I don't know what happened with that, but they were like, 'We're not working on [Wild] anymore, but we do have a lot of talent here, so maybe we can work on some stuff'".
I've ask Sony and Wild Sheep Studio for comment and will update the story if I hear more.