Developer Rare announced plans to open a second, complementary studio at Fazeley Studios in Digbeth, Birmingham. Functioning as a “production, test, and usability site” with hopes to turn into “a world class usability lab.”
“The old way of making games just doesn’t work anymore , we need to be much more flexible in how we staff a team and setting up new facility in Digbeth will help us to do this,” said Rare facility Studio Head Mark Betteridge. “Its central location and the nature of other businesses in the area make it a very appealing environment in which to work. While we are committed to keeping our headquarters in Twycross, we feel a second studio in a more urban location will be appealing to some staff.”
“I am delighted that Rare has chosen Fazeley Studios for its second base,” added Lucan Gray, who created Fazeley Studios. “The fact that a Microsoft Games Studio is coming to Digbeth shows how things have moved on in the area in the last couple of years, in spite of the challenging economic background. Our aim is for Digbeth to be the geographic heart of Birmingham’s digital economy. You can’t get much better than Microsoft arriving as a vote of confidence in our ability to deliver that aim.”
This is very interesting to hear. Rare has indeed been in a downward spiral since the its final days with Nintendo. Even David Wise has left the company. I hope for the best though. Their old games are a huge part of my youth.