Microsoft: Lionhead and Rare safe
No 'plans', says Spencer
With Microsoft having already announced that developer Ensemble will close following the release of Halo Wars, conjecture has intensified surrounding the future of both Lionhead and Rare; chatter abound that Redmond are keen to cut costs.
Microsoft Games Studios boss Phil Spencer, however, tells GI.biz that there is no secret 'plan' for Peter Molyneux's Lionhead firm, despite talk within the trade surrounding potential changes at the British developer.
"Well I’m going to drill in on that a little, but no - no plan for Lionhead," Spencer offered, when asked if Lionhead could go the way of Ensemble.
He added: "In terms of our investment in a game like Crackdown or Gears of War, where they’re developed by other developers - those are as important to us as games that are developed by internal studios."
On Rare, then: "The work that those studios are doing [is] incredibly important to MGS. For Rare, this will be their fifth game in the first three years of the Xbox 360 - that’s crazy. Two launch games? What studio on the planet signs up for two launch games? That’s just crazy."
