Okay, so, there’s this video game company, right? Rare, I mean. Been around for like, 40 years now. That’s a long time in game years, let me tell you. Anyway, they started back in ’85, spun out from something called Ultimate Play the Game. Funny name if you ask me. But these folks? They’ve whipped up some biggies like Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye 007 with a helping hand from Nintendo and Xbox. Right, then there’s Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata – and who can forget Sea of Thieves? Absolute classics.
So, to mark this big ol’ 40th anniversary, Rare teamed up with 8BitDo and dropped this limited edition wireless Xbox controller. I mean, sure, controllers are cool, but the timing? Well, it’s kind of awkward because there’s been some tension between Xbox and Rare lately.
Alright, let’s dig into what’s up with Xbox and Rare. Turned out, starting around 2023 or so, Microsoft and Xbox were letting a lot of people go. Even though they kept saying they were doing just fine financially. Go figure. I mean, Xbox isn’t selling as much as Nintendo or PlayStation, but still. In 2023, boom, 10,000 folks laid off. And they kept going: 2,550 in 2024, another 6,000 or so by May 2025, and then they kept shaving the numbers – 300 here, 9,000 there. Talk about a rollercoaster of pink slips.
These layoffs hit every corner of Microsoft’s empire, but Xbox and game studios got hit hard. Phil Spencer, their top gaming guy, gave some corporate spiel about cutting extra layers to be more “agile.” Whatever that means. Meanwhile, they’ve got more game players than ever. Go figure!
Sadly, the layoffs weren’t all. Hey, there were canceled games too. Imagine you’re deep into developing something for years, and then kaput. Say goodbye to projects like Blackbird, a reboot of Perfect Dark, and this new thing called Everwild from Rare.
Oh, but here’s a kicker: Perfect Dark’s reboot was such a big deal they had a whole studio, The Initiative, working on it, and these layoffs just shut it down. Talk about brutal.
Switching gears back to Everwild, it was supposed to be Rare’s next big thing since Battletoads got a revamp in 2020. They showed it off at this gaming event called X019, looked all magical and stuff. Players could roam these enchanting worlds. Sounds nice, huh? Anyway, it got rebooted in 2021 after some shake-ups. Simon Woodroffe, their creative overlord, left, and bam, things changed.
They did put out a couple of trailers, but honestly? No one really got a clear picture of what you’d actually do in the game. Some whispers said it felt sort of like Viva Piñata. Take that as you will.
And then, right as 2025 rolled in, things shook up more. Gregg Mayles, one of Rare’s veterans who jumped on board as a teenager back in ’89, left. Mind you, this guy had his hands on everything from Battletoads to Banjo-Kazooie. Seeing him go? It’s like losing part of Rare’s soul.
The whole anniversary hoopla ended up with this mixed vibe. A shiny controller, but like a shadow of their recent dramas – layoffs, canceled games, a blurry future. Yet, they did put up a plaque at Ashby-de-la-Zouch to honor Rare’s legacy. A bit of a bittersweet toast to the OG creations and the brains behind them.
