It turns out there’s more to Microsoft’s 40th birthday celebrations for beloved UK studio Rare than just an ugly controller. Xbox has now outlined its full anniversary plans, which include an Evercade cartridge collection, a four-disc vinyl soundtrack, Sea of Thieves bits, and more.
These days, Rare is best known for Sea of Thieves, but before that it gave us the wonderful Viva Piñata among other delights. And fans of a certain age will fondly recall the studio’s legendary Nintendo output, which included the Donkey Kong Country series on SNES, and a stellar run of N64 titles, such as Banjo-Kazooie, GoldenEye 007, Blast Corps, Jet Force Gemini, Diddy Kong Racing, Perfect Dark, and Conker’s Bad Fur Day. But go back even further, to the days of rubber-keyed Spectrums and tangled tape cassettes, and the studio – then known as Ultimate Play the Game – was already pumping out bangers like Sabre Wolf, Jetpack, Atic Atac, and Knight Lore.
All of which is to say there’s a lot to celebrate as the studio turns 40, and current Rare owner Microsoft has now detailed its birthday plans. Long-time fans will, for instance, have the opportunity to purchase iam8bit’s Rare 40th Anniversary Box Set, which features 39 tracks across four-discs. It costs $100 USD (pre-orders go live on 7th August
Microsoft has also teamed up with Evercade to release a new cartridge collection featuring twelve “vintage” Rare titles. Specifically, it includes Jetpac, Lunar Jetman, Atic Atac, Sabre Wulf, Underwurlde, Knight Lore, Gunfright, RC Pro-Am, Cobra Triangle, Battletoads, Battletoads Arcade, and Conker’s Pocket Tales, with pre-orders going live on 30th September. Elsewhere, Fangamer has a wide-ranging (but disappointingly Viva Piñata-averse) merchandise collection, which runs from t-shirts and vinyl soundtracks to key rings and a King Conker plushie I’m struggling to resist. As for that previously leaked 8bitdo Rare 40th Anniversary Edition controller, it costs $89.99 USD and still seems to be a US exclusive.
And inevitably, Sea of Thieves is also getting in on the birthday action. Starting tomorrow, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can grab the in-game Rare Ruby Emote as a Perk, and a Pirate Emporium sale begins on 6th August, discounting various cosmetics inspired by classic Rare games. There’s more happening from 14th August, when the multiplayer pirate adventure’s next season, Smugglers’ Tide, begins. Players that log in before the end of the month, for instance, get the Rare Ruby Eyepatch; various ruby-themed items will be available to purchase from Outposts, and the Ruby Legend Figurehead can be unlocked as a goal during the next Community Weekend on 30th August. On top of that, there’s a 40th Anniversary Sea of Thieves cosmetics bundle coming to digital storefronts when the new season starts, as well as a ruby ship set in the Pirate Emporium and ruby items in the Seasonal Plunder Pass.
But if you’re in need of more immediate celebrations, Microsoft has just launched new Xbox gamerpics and a dynamic background featuring a “who’s-who of Rare characters old and new”. Furthermore, Rare fans able to make the pilgrimage to the English town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, can gaze upon a blue heritage plaque, which has been unveiled on the building where Tim and Chris Stamper co-founded the studio in 1985.
It’s just a shame all this follows a difficult year for Rare, which saw its long-in-the-works fantasy game Everwild cancelled in July with some employees facing redundancy amid devastating Xbox restructuring that resulted in substantial job cuts across Microsoft’s games division. Additionally, Rare veteran Gregg Mayles, who directed the likes of Banjo-Kazooie and Sea of Thieves, departed the studio after more than 35 years.