Rare Ware is a video game company that was founded in 1985 by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper. The Stamper brothers had previously worked together as part of Ultimate Play the Game, an early home computer game developer which created titles such as Jetpac, Knight Lore, Sabre Wulf, and Atic Atac. Rare Ware started off as a two-person operation with just Tim and Chris, but eventually grew into a large studio with over 100 employees.
Throughout the 1990s, Rare Ware made some of the best games ever released exclusively for Nintendo 64 platform. Among their most popular franchises are Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong Country series, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Killer Instinct, Blast Corps and GoldenEye 007. These revolutionary games combined groundbreaking 3D graphics with unprecedented levels of detail and complexity for the time. They earned critical acclaim from gamers and critics alike for pushing the boundaries of console gaming to new heights.
In 2002 Microsoft purchased Rare Ware for an undisclosed sum thought to be around $375 million USD. Since then the studio has produced titles mostly for Xbox platforms such as Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo: Elements of Power and Viva Piñata although some multiplatform games have also been released including Sea of Thieves and Battletoads. Despite no longer developing games as prolifically as they once did, Rare Ware remains one of gaming’s legendary developers who helped define what console gaming could be during the late 90s and early 2000s.
Today Rare Ware is still owned by Microsoft where it develops both new IPs and works on upcoming updates to existing Microsoft titles such as Sea of Thieves. The studio is also heavily involved in developing Kinect technology through its use in various Xbox 360 exclusives including Kinect Sports Rivals and Kinectimals Now With Bears!
Rare Ware’s legacy will continue thanks to its impressive range of classic N64 titles that remain cherished by modern gamers even today – nearly 25 years since their original releases. Not only this but Rare Warehouse’s continued involvement in Microsoft studios has seen them earn even more fans who recognize their creative vision through their phenomenal Xbox franchises – showing that despite being around since 1985, this iconic video game developer still has plenty more innovation left to give us in coming years.