Rare Turns 40: Is a Swanky Controller Their Only Spell for a Rough Year?
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Rare celebrates its 40th anniversary with a slick new 8BitDo controller, but Jeff can't help but note the contrast with the studio's recent rough patch, including *Everwild*'s cancellation and a veteran's departure.
Right, so you know that feeling when you’re celebrating a massive milestone – like accidentally summoning a dragon instead of a cup of tea, and while everyone’s cheering for the dragon, you’re still picking up the charred remains of your living room? That, mate, feels a bit like the vibe around Rare’s 40th anniversary.
Bloody hell, forty years! Forty years of digital magic, of iconic characters, of games that redefined genres. This is the studio, mind you, that gave us *GoldenEye 007* (well, most of it), *Banjo-Kazooie*, *Perfect Dark*, *Donkey Kong Country*, and more recently, *Sea of Thieves*, which has sailed its way into millions of players’ hearts and continues to evolve like some marvellous, shapeshifting kraken.
So, when news drops that part of the big 40th anniversary celebration from Rare and Xbox is... a licensed controller? You can forgive a wizard for raising an eyebrow, can’t you? Especially when said controller, built by the rather reputable 8BitDo, was leaked online via an Amazon listing rather than a grand, mystical unveiling.
Fair dinkum, it looks rather snazzy. Decked out in signature blue and gold, adorned with symbolic patterns – bananas for Donkey Kong, feathers for Banjo-Kazooie, tentacles for Sea of Thieves. It’s a genuine love letter in plastic and circuitry. Plus, it’s packing Hall Effect sticks (a massive win for anyone who’s had stick drift turn their heroic quest into a frustrating waddle), ‘Pro Back Buttons,’ and an integrated charging dock. Compatibility across Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, Android, and iOS is pretty neat too. And at $89.99, it’s certainly aiming for the premium end of the peripheral market. The Amazon page calls it “A legendary collaboration for a legendary milestone.” And, yeah, it looks the part. It’s a tribute, a piece of art even, for a studio that’s given us so much digital joy over the decades.
But here’s where my wizarding senses start tingling, mate, because this celebration isn’t exactly a straightforward party. It’s got a distinct undertone, like a perfectly brewed potion with a hint of something a bit… bittersweet. See, as fantastic as this controller looks, it lands in the wake of what’s been, to put it mildly, a bit of a rough trot for Rare.
Remember *Everwild*? The game that sounded like pure Rare magic – a mystical, co-op adventure that had us all dreaming of whimsical forests and digital critters, first teased back in 2019? It was positioned as Rare’s next big thing, something that would stand alongside *Sea of Thieves*. Well, just last month, it got canned. Just poof. Vanished. Another victim of the ever-turbulent currents of game development, especially when tied to massive corporate restructures and the brutal realities of live service pressures. When a highly anticipated new IP from a beloved studio gets quietly shelved, it's not just a footnote; it's a pretty big deal. It signals challenges in vision, execution, or simply the cold, hard economic calculus of the industry.
And if that wasn’t enough, shortly after the *Everwild* news, we heard about Gregg Mayles departing the studio. Now, this isn’t just an employee leaving, is it? This is like a wizard losing their most trusted spellbook, or a knight misplacing their enchanted sword. Mayles had been at Rare for over 35 years. Thirty-five! He’s the mind behind some of their most cherished work, directing games like *Banjo-Kazooie* and *Sea of Thieves*, and playing a key role in countless others, including *Donkey Kong 64*. Losing someone with that kind of institutional knowledge, that deep well of creative legacy, well, it leaves a crater. It makes you wonder what direction a studio takes when such a foundational pillar decides to move on.
So, when you put it all together – a much-hyped new game cancelled, a veteran creator departing after decades of service, and then the big 40th anniversary announcement being a beautifully designed, but ultimately *external*, piece of hardware – it’s a lot to process. It’s like celebrating your birthday with a shiny new bike, but you’ve just had to sell your car and your house needs a new roof. It raises a few questions, doesn't it? Is this controller a clever distraction? A morale booster for a team that’s been through the wringer? Or simply a practical, if somewhat ironic, piece of merchandise that just happened to align with a rough patch?
I reckon it’s a bit of everything. The controller itself is a genuine tribute, a nod to the immense impact Rare has had on gaming history. It’s a tangible piece of nostalgia for the millions of us who’ve adventured through their worlds. And for a studio that’s delivered so much, celebrating 40 years is a huge achievement, regardless of recent setbacks. The social media post from Rare itself, showing all those beloved characters gathered together, felt genuinely heartfelt: “For keeping an assorted ragtag of creatives working magic in the Midlands, only two words will do: THANK YOU.”
Ultimately, Rare’s 40th anniversary is a moment for reflection. It’s a celebration of an incredible legacy, but also a stark reminder of the choppy waters even the most legendary studios have to navigate. It's about acknowledging the past, celebrating the present (like the ongoing success of *Sea of Thieves*), and perhaps, with a dash of cautious optimism, hoping that the next chapter for Rare brings less turbulence and more of that unique, inimitable magic we’ve come to expect from them. Here’s hoping that this controller is just the first step in Rare casting some new, truly groundbreaking spells for the next forty years.
Tags: Gaming News, Rare, Xbox, Gaming Peripherals, Industry Analysis
Original article: Eurogamer