2025 is a big year for Rare, the iconic and storied game studio residing in the sleepy English Midlands, as it marks the studio’s 40th anniversary. Originally founded by the Stamper Brothers in 1985, Rare has left its mark across many a console generation, from their work with Nintendo in the 90s to their current incarnation as a 1st party studio for Xbox.
While the year has not been kind to Rare, with the cancellation of Everwild and the departure of Creative Director Gregg Mayles, the studio isn’t letting these events dampen their spirits.
Today, on August 4th, 2025, Rare took to their social media accounts and the official Xbox site to thank the fans and celebrate this amazing milestone.
First up is a lovely illustration depicting the vast cast of Rare IPs over the decades, from the likes of Knightlore and Jetpac to Sea of Thieves and Banjo Kazooie. Along with a selection of new Gamerpics, this same image is also available as a dynamic background for Xbox consoles.
These next few announcements come via the official Xbox website.
“2025 marks the 40th "˜Ruby' Anniversary of that bold endeavour, and Rare's inviting everyone to join the celebration of this impressive milestone, offering free gifts, discounts and plenty of swag to claim in their shared-world pirate adventure, Sea of Thieves.”
Rare and Xbox have teamed up with a number of other brands to create a variety of merchandise. Iam8bit has been tapped to release a Rare 40th anniversary vinyl collection that is planned to go up for pre-orders on their website on August 7th, priced at $100. It will include music from Sea of Thieves, Banjo Kazooie, Battletoads, Viva Piñata, and more.
According to the Xbox website article Retro gaming enthusiasts can look forward to “a new cartridge collection of twelve vintage Rare titles spanning home computer, console and arcade” from Evercade. The retro console and game manufacturer is teasing the reveal on their social media with the time 6:00 PM BST/1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT.
The article also mentions a retro Rare range of merchandise courtesy of Fangamer, including a commemorative ruby pin, but there is currently nothing to be found on Fangamer’s website and social media accounts.
The celebrations are not just in the real world, as Rare takes to the Sea of Thieves for more 40th anniversary goodies. Kicking things off with a heritage sale in the Pirate Emporium, starting August 6th, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can pick up an exclusive Rare Ruby Emote for free.
Sticking with the Ruby theme, a Rare Ruby Hat will be included with the purchase of select Ancient Coin Packs from August 14th, the beginning of Sea of Thieves’ next big update, Season 17 “Smugglers’ Tide”. But that’s not all!
“A 40th Anniversary bundle of cosmetics will be arriving on storefronts at the same time, while pirates logging into the game before the month is out will receive the Rare Ruby Eyepatch. An array of ruby-themed items will be arriving in the Outpost shops”.
The Pirate Emporium will also offer Ruby Reaper’s Mark sails for a limited time, and a seasonal Plunder Pass featuring “Rare Regalia items with a similarly scarlet hue.” New Twitch drops, a Community Weekend flag, a Paper Cutout emote, and a Ruby Figurehead Community Goal round out the known plunder coming to Sea of Thieves.
Back to the 3rd-party partnerships, 8bitDo has revealed a Rare 40th anniversary edition of the 8bitDo Ultimate controller, retailing at $79.99.
Included in the box:
- 8BitDo Ultimate 3-mode Controller – Rare 40th Anniversary Edition
- Charging Dock
- 2.4G Adapter
- Joycap x 2
- USB Cable
- Instruction Manual
In a fetching blue and gold colour scheme inspired by Rare’s previous logo before its Ruby update, the controller and charging dock sport a motif of Sea of Thieves details, including skull joycaps.
That is all the Rare 40th anniversary announcements we have for now, but be sure to check back for updates and further news on this landmark occasion.
From all of us here at the Gamer Social Club, we would like to congratulate Rare on their Ruby anniversary, and thank the Rare team members, past and present, who made so many of the games we still love and play to this day!
How are you celebrating Rare’s 40th anniversary? Have any Rare gaming memories? Let us know in the comments below.
