Rare is a well respected name within the gaming world. When the development studio was acquired by Microsoft some time ago, there was some concern raised by gamers as to what the studio would actually produce. Since the time they've been with Microsoft, Rare have worked on a number of projects which include the recently released Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and the Viva Piñata series.

More recently however, Rare have been quietly working away on avatars for the Xbox 360 and will look to shift their focus slightly in the future, according to a press release from Microsoft. The company will focus on three areas - which will see Rare branch out into some new areas while continuing to work on new games.

The restructuring of Rare is the result of larger changes that are afoot at Microsoft, with the possibility of job losses at the studio having not been ruled out. A statement released by Microsoft indicates this fact:

As we restructure to successfully execute against our shared strategy within this framework, we will be implementing a new approach to current projects in the pipeline that could serve as an industry-wide model for how to achieve a more efficient and scalable development process.

In order to achieve these goals, the company is reviewing the current composition of its development teams and there is the possibility that a small number of current positions could be lost as a result of these changes.

Rare's new three tiered focus will revolve around the Xbox 360 - with the goals of "expanding the customer base by delivering experiences that allow our custoemrs to interact with our content", along with "better" efforts to be made in transitioning Xbox LIVE as a "social entertainment network". Finally, Rare will continue on developing their own AAA titles.


Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise
Mark Betteridge of Rare had the following to say regarding the changes:

Throughout its history, Rare has demonstrated a willingness to embrace new approaches and commitment to delivering game-changing experiences to our customers. This announcement is no different and builds on that tradition as we work with MGS [Microsoft Game Studios] to make interactive entertainment as culturally relevant in people’s lives as books, movies and television are today.

The announcement of the restructuring of Rare follows other changes in the industry, which included staff from Ensemble Studios who no longer had employment with Microsoft Game Studios to form a new studio called Robot Entertainment.

The "restructure" of Rare shouldn't really cause any changes to projects that are currently in development at the studio, but their increased focus on the Xbox LIVE Experience could see almost anything come to the console in the near future.