A Twycross studio, part of Xbox Game Studios, known for Sea of Thieves and classics such as GoldenEye 007 and Banjo-Kazooie.
Rare is a British games studio in Twycross, Leicestershire, and part of Xbox Game Studios. Its most recent big game is Sea of Thieves, a shared pirate adventure that players explore together online, and it is still being updated. Rare also made a long list of classics, including Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark and Viva Pinata.
Brothers Tim and Chris Stamper founded Rare in 1985, growing out of their earlier company Ultimate Play the Game. They made games for Nintendo systems and Nintendo took a stake in the company in 1994. Microsoft bought Rare in 2002, and the Stamper brothers left in 2007. Rare Replay, a collection of 30 of its games, came out in 2015 for the studio's 30th anniversary. Under its current heads the studio has said it wants players involved in building Sea of Thieves, and in 2020 it helped with the Battletoads revival. We did not find a current mission statement from the studio.
Rare is in Twycross, a village in the English Midlands, in a rural setting outside Birmingham, and Wikipedia reports over 200 employees as of 2020. Joe Neate and Jim Horth became co-studio heads in late 2024. The studio's game Everwild was cancelled in 2025, a reminder that making games involves changes of direction, and Sea of Thieves remains its main focus.
Rare has been described as a private studio, historically known for secrecy, with staff working in separate buildings by project. More recently the studio became more open to its fans, inviting players into the development of Sea of Thieves. These come from outside reporting rather than Rare's own statements, so ask staff what the culture is like today. A 2018 feature described a warm, family-like atmosphere, with converted barns, a football field, an in-house cafeteria and lots of natural light, more like an artist's studio than a tech hub. It said Rare values inclusion, such as letting players dress their characters however they like, and good behaviour online.
An online pirate game needs programmers, artists and animators, designers, audio staff, producers and community staff who work with players. Rare's players also join in directly: its community forum is a core part of development, and the studio once renamed a tavern in the game after a community member. Because the game is updated all the time, many roles are about running a live service as well as building new content. Xbox's careers pages list current Rare vacancies.
Website: www.rare.co.uk
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