Banjo-Kazooie director Gregg Mayles has officially left Rare after 36 years

Greg Mayles, a longtime veteran at UK-based developer Rare, has officially left the company after 36 years.

• The Banjo-Kazooie director announced his departure in a new post to social media. News of his exit first surfaced amid Microsoft’s mass layoffs in July, but he notes that Tuesday, October 14, was his final day working at the legendary developer.

• Mayles joined Rare in 1989 and was one of its earliest designers, working on nearly 30 iconic titles, including Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, and Viva Piñata. After Rare was acquired by Microsoft in the early 2000s, he led development of Xbox 360’s Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Kinect Sports and most recently served as creative director for multiplayer hit Sea of Thieves.
• His most recent project, Everwild, was cancelled this summer as part of Microsoft’s company-wide layoffs that also impacted the Perfect Dark reboot that was being developed alongside Crystal Dynamics. Executive producer Louise O’Connor, who joined Rare in 1999, is also said to have left the company alongside Mayles, with layoffs also impacting Crystal Dynamics last month.
• It’s unknown what the studio’s future plans are beyond Sea of Thieves, but the first-ever screenshots of Everwild were shared online earlier this week, giving the public a look at what state the project was in shortly before its cancellation.