Rare Working on "Unique" Project, Says Xbox Boss

Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, has teased a new undisclosed game in development at the Microsoft-owned UK studio Rare.

Writing on his personal Twitter account, Spencer said that Rare is "building a uniquely Rare game, as it should be. Great visit to the studio."

No other details were provided, though Spencer's tweet could be taken as a sign that Rare is moving away from the Kinect Spots series that it has been working on for the past five years.

Rare is blessed with rich history of producing acclaimed and unique games, from Viva Pinata to Jet Force Gemini. However, many of the principal developers responsible for Rare's most famous works, such as GoldenEye and Banjo Kazooie, left the studio years ago.

Microsoft purchased Rare in September 2002 for $375 million--a record fee at the time.

The Twycross-based developer's most recent release, Kinect Sports Rivals, was released to a mixed response from critics. GameSpot's review claimed that the motion-control focused game is "an inconsistent collection that will get you up off the couch and moving around for a bit of mild fun, but that's about the best you can say for it."