WiLD, the ambitious open world game from Rayman creator Michel Ancel, was confirmed to be no longer in development last year, a full decade after announcement.
Now, Shuhei Yoshida, the former PlayStation executive who was president of PlayStation Studios for years, has shared his view on why the game never saw the light of day.
Speaking to MinnMax as part of a larger interview (time-stamped above), Yoshida essentially says the game's ambitions and ideas never really came together into a proper game.
"We were working with Michel Ancel's team, [Wild Sheep Studio], on a project called WiLD," Yoshida begins. "That vision was amazing. So we worked with them for a long time [...] but in the end, we had to cancel it."
Yoshida continues: "There [were] lots of great ideas [that] didn't really materialise into the game structure. It was very open kind of thinking [...] One of the earliest [pitches] was the map size of the game was the size of Europe."
Following the studio confirming the project's cancellation, Ancel himself passed comment on the matter, saying that Ubisoft's handling of the game was a "real scandal".
It seems as though things really began to fall apart when Sony management shifted and publishing duties were handed to Ubisoft. Seemingly the game was a victim of circumstance, but Yoshida's comments make it sound like the development team wasn't able to deliver on its grand vision.
Whatever the case, it's a shame, as WiLD always looked full of potential. Are you disappointed about the fate of WiLD? Tell us in the comments section below.
[source youtu.be]
Comments 16
Speaking of Rayman, we need a new one…
I'm gonna be honest, I've never heard of this game. Also agree with @jFug we need a new Rayman, origins was PEAK!!
I loved the initial concept and setting of WiLD, and even some of my non-gaming friends were intrigued by it. However, when I started hearing things like the inclusion of procedural generation and that comment about the map being the size of Europe, that decreased my interest exponentially. It's not a surprise this never came together.
It always seemed extremely ambitious and incredibly cool, but I'm not massively surprised it never got finished.
Seems from what Shuhei is saying it was just too ambitious!
Gotta give that to Kojima and his team, they manage to adapt his insane ideas into game systems that actually work.
Ambition is the biggest killer of most games. A map the size of Europe no development team in the world could do that. Most video game projects suffer from over ambition vs timescale.
I have worked on games in the past where levels where removed during development or half working features had be cut out to make the release deadline.
They where smaller in scope than wild as well.
@Perturbator they still kicked the Phantom Pain out the door before it was finished. The final mission was never complete if you bought the Limited edition version of it the mission briefing for the final mission where on the bonus disc with a bit about how they where unable to finish it as it it needed an extra location.
@Fallingshadow I disagree with you about MGSV. The game is called the Phantom Pain for a reason. The feeling of an incomplete ending is part of the experience. I think Kojima could have added more if he wanted to with that one, but he wanted to leave people longing for more instead. In fact, I believe the bonus disc is meant to fuel that feeling for the hardcore fanbase of his. It took me a while to realize this, but I do think this was part of his vision.
As for Wild, it’s an absolute shame this one never went anywhere. It had the unique vision and ambition that I wish more developers had. It reminds me of an earlier era where absolutely insane ideas would get greenlit and become strange and wonderful things, but nowhere near the concepts that were originally planned.
The reveal trailer for WiLD had me so intrigued! What a shame it never coalesced.
It can be interesting seeing “how the sausage is made”, it’s rarely down to what the developers can do at this scale, more about people higher up in the food chain. If the No Man’s Sky had been part of a bigger company, it would have probably gone this way
Very open thinking, something Sony hates
@somnambulance Kojima was fired before the game was finished. Konami kicked it out the door due to the increasing cost.
Larry bundy did a breakdown of what happened in development https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v3pTFa9BNI
Major Spoliers you can see the real ending here the almost complete intro was left in the game files https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxgH4I_6d0Q
Wonder if he'll talk about Deep Down as well...
I still remember the name and a few of the trailers. Could have been interesting, but could have been eh too. But with staff/management/ideas and how to make it land, much hope in the title not surprised.
Horizon to me has a great use of it's robots and humans but the problem is the world/setting/themes are good the gameplay bored me to death. That and cauldrons that should have heightened things for the differences they offer of level design or setting change yet to me were the worst part of the game. What a disappointment.
At least Ancestors and Far Cry Primal came out but yeah not the same experience.
Though I doubt this game would have done as much as those titles.
Ancestors to me seemed like a fine idea but a bit too much 'look we can off this type of setting/characters' but the gameplay seemed a bit weak and too focused on it's setting/theme to be fun.
Far Cry Primal I think mixed things well off of Far Cry 4 and being it's own thing with the same map remixed.
Stuff like Tak and the Power of Juju or others with a more tribal approach I found way more fun because the 'fiction' is used well even if it's a kids game it has so many interesting little details while being fun to contextualise things not 'look we have tribal setting/dull mechanics and too much realism' and it just isn't exciting in the slightest.
"the map size of the game was the size of Europe" that one big red flag. Big and boring, or so ambitious it will never see the light of day (looking at you star citizen)
Nothing great ever comes out of Ubisoft.
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