Scott Henson takes control of Rare

American Microsoft stalwart Scott Henson is to move from the US to the UK to take control of Rare.

“The reason I’m so excited is that both Rare and I has a great history of innovation and creating experiences that are breakthrough experiences that reach millions of people,” Henson told MCV.

“The timing is actually perfect. I’ve worked on Xbox since before the original Xbox. I helped bring Xbox Live to life, which has reached millions of people. Rare over the last 25 years is the same story.

"It’s all those things coming together at a time when Kinect is about to launch with an excellent launch title in Kinect Sports which is poised to do very, very well. I think the combination is extremely powerful.”

Henson has been with Microsoft for 16 years.

In the wake of the announcement, Henson said that Kinect will form only part of Rare's ongoing strategy.

"Kinect will be a key part of the studio's future," he told Eurogamer.

"I'm not suggesting it's going to be exclusive, but it will be the centrepiece of our strategy for sure, because there is a lot of opportunity there."

Rare is about to release Kinect Sports as a Kinect launch title.