New art from an unreleased PS4 exclusive game called Wild suggested that it could be announced for PlayStation 5 at a big reveal event.
It’s not uncommon in the video game industry to have one or two titles per generation that are given the distinction of being vaporware. To those unaware, this term refers to titles that were once announced to great fanfare, only to end up being shelved indefinitely due to a number of reasons. Perhaps one of the most notable for this generation is Wild Sheep Studio’s Wild, an upcoming open-world survival action title set to be released exclusively on the PlayStation 4.
That said, while many have seemingly given up seeing this title releasing before the cross-generational period during the holidays, there’s still hints of development progress popping up every once in a while to remind everyone that Wild still exists. A few days ago, a Reddit user noted that developer Wild Sheep Studio has updated their site to show off some artwork for Wild, sparking some talk as to the game’s status as of late and just how much of vaporware it is.
From PS4 to PS5?
Wild started its development back in 2014 in a new studio headed by industry legend Michel Ancel, best known for his work on Ubisoft’s Rayman series as well as Beyond Good and Evil. Wild is certainly extravagant in its scale, with the initial plans detailing an open game world the size of a very large continent, complete with a dynamic weather system, online play, and its main selling point – the ability to play any wild creature in the game world, from wolves, sheep, fish, ants, cats, birds and many more. It was expected to be a PlayStation 4 exclusive title, utilizing a procedural-generated world and a brilliantly large scope to match.
However, past a severely outdated gameplay trailer shown at Gamescom back in August 2014 and another one plus a film about its production at Paris Games Week in October 2015, there has been no more details released regarding its development status. Sporadically, Ancel will release more screenshots of Wild, but there has been no concrete evidence of its development moving forward significantly.
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This rather sluggish pace has not stopped some fans, though, as the updated website of the developer can only mean that the game is still alive, albeit now marked for release in the next console generation.
Sometime after Beyond Good and Evil 2
Optimism towards Wild may be a bit unfounded at the moment, though, as Ancel himself is quite busy with another large-scale project that is far more popular – Beyond Good and Evil 2, a sequel to one of his most beloved projects in Ubisoft. With the latter still not having a proper release window or target platforms of sorts, it’s safe to assume that while Wild still exists, it may not be happening any time soon.
Image used courtesy of PlayStation/YouTube Screenshot