Rare appoints former Colin McRae, Sonic Racing dev as studio director
Rare has hired Craig Duncan to take on the senior studio director role. Duncan will oversee all product development and staff management at the UK-based developer, part of Microsoft Game Studios.
Duncan comes to Rare with experience in product development at Codemasters, Midway Games and Sumo Digital. His credits include the Colin McRae Rally series and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (pictured).
Duncan's appointment at Rare follows last month's report that the studio was replacing its full-time art staff with contract workers. Rare is rumored to be working on a sequel to the "breakout hit" Kinect Sports -- perhaps with a racing minigame, now?
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CRAIG DUNCAN TAKES ON RARE ROLE
Rare is delighted to announce the appointment of Craig Duncan to the position of Senior Studio Director overseeing all aspects of product development and talent management at the Midlands based studio. Craig brings a wealth of experience to his new role have worked in senior product development roles at Codemasters, Midway Games and latterly Sumo Digital. He has worked on some of the industry's' best known franchises including the Colin McRae Rally series and Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing so is no stranger to instantly recognisable and hugely popular properties!
Announcing Craig's appointment Scott Henson Studio Manager said "Craig's appointment strengthens the terrific team at Rare which was most recently responsible for the breakout hit Kinect Sports. Craig joins us at an exciting time and his experience will be key to ensuring that Rare continues to create innovative, industry-leading products which delight and entertain."
Craig added "I'm thrilled to be taking on this leadership role at Rare; It is a studio with a great heritage and a consistent track record of creative innovation within Microsoft Game Studios. I'm looking forward to working with the exceptional talent at Rare to create amazing games that will see Rare establish its position as one of the world's top game studios."
About Rare
Founded in 1985, Rare established a reputation for quality that led to fame with such classic titles as Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye. Upon its acquisition by Microsoft Game Studios in 2002, Rare supported the Xbox 360 debut with launch titles Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero. Subsequent years brought innovation in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, the Viva Piñata franchise and pioneering work on Xbox 360 Avatars. Rare's most recent release Kinect Sports enjoyed huge critical and commercial success and was named Best Family Game at the recent GAME British Academy Video Games Awards. The company operates from both its custom-built rural HQ and brand new Birmingham facility.
