Hoping to allay fears surrounding the fates of studios Rare and Lionhead, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Game Studios, commented that the work of both the studios is “incredibly important to Microsoft.”

He was referring to the sudden closure of Ensemble Studios, the much vaunted developer of the Age of Empires series.

Both Rare and Lionhead have been criticized for not producing any solid franchise other than the ones it had pre-MGS days. Lionhead’s Fable 2 just went gold, and Rare is working on releasing a Banjo and Kazooie sequel for the Xbox 360.