Gregg Mayles, the director of Sea of Thieves and designer on Donkey Kong Country, has announced that he’s left Rare. News of Mayles’ exit data-i13n=”cpos:1;pos:1″ href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sources-banjo-kazooie-sea-of-thieves-director-leaves-rare-after-35-years-following-everwild-cancellation/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:was first reported;cpos:1;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “> in July 2025 during a data-i13n=”cpos:2;pos:1″ href=”https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-gaming-division-suffers-further-layoffs-142430386.html” data-ylk=”slk:rash of layoffs and game cancellations;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “> across Xbox Games Studios, but the short poem he data-i13n=”cpos:3;pos:1″ href=”https://x.com/Ghoulyboy/status/1978112736270655778″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:shared on X;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “> today makes it official.
With a 36-year tenure at the studio, Mayles saw its transition from an exclusive Nintendo partner to a Microsoft subsidiary. He helped design games like Battletoads, created Banjo-Kazooie and when studio founders Tim and Chris Stamper left in 2007, stepped up and became…
