‘Thanks to everyone who played’: Banjo-Kazooie director confirms Rare exit after 36 years

Rare’s most experienced and celebrated game designer, Gregg Mayles, has confirmed he’s left the company after more than 35 years.

Confirming a VGC report from July, Mayles posted on social media on Tuesday that he had completed his final day at the company, where he helmed arguably its most memorable games.

“Today was my last day at Rare. Thanks to everyone who played and enjoyed any of the games I helped create while I was there. Also thanks to all the people that worked on the games alongside me.”

Mayles marked his departure with what he called “one final rhyme”, alluding to the many lines of poetry scattered through his releases.

Mayles was one of Rare’s earliest design hires, with his first credited game, Solar Jetman, releasing in 1990.

He went on to become one of the British studio’s most prolific and celebrated game directors, helming Donkey Kong Country and its sequel, Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, and Viva Pinata.

Under Microsoft, he also designed Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Kinect Sports, and served as the creative director for its live service hit Sea of Thieves. In total, Mayles has worked on nearly 30 games at Rare.

Mayles’ most recent game, Everwild, was cancelled this summer as part of significant company-wide layoffs, which reportedly saw as many as 9.000 people laid off across all of its departments.