Xbox head Phil Spencer plays new game from Rare

UK game developer Rare is up to something. I don't know what it is, but Xbox Head Phil Spencer teased today that he got to go hands-on with their new game. Though he stopped short of revealing what it was, he did say the studio is "building a uniquely Rare game, as it should be."

Rare, Microsoft's "premiere" Kinect game developer, suffered layoffs earlier this year in the wake of a disappointing Kinect Sports Rivals release. Despite the layoffs, Microsoft remains committed to the developer, with Spencer recently acknowledging that the studio is "an important part of Xbox's future."

What that future entails remains to be seen exactly, but it certainly sounds promising. Spencer's cryptic tweet comes on the heels of the discovery that Microsoft trademarked Battletoads — a Rare-created game — on November 5; however, there's no evidence that what Spencer saw was a new Battletoads.

With a catalog as deep as Rare's, would you like to see a brand new IP or a revival of one of its classic franchises?