A Glimpse into Rare's Innovative Solar-Powered Barn X

About a year ago, an eagle-eyed Rare fan stumbled upon something intriguing on Google Maps. The Xbox developer's offices, nestled in the heart of Manor Park, boast a sprawling complex comprising a central building and four barns – A, B, C, and D. However, the recent revelation of a fifth, substantially larger barn has piqued the interest of many. What could the Sea of Thieves studio be working on? Last week, we had the privilege of visiting Barn X, Rare's newly built, sustainable office, which studio boss Craig Duncan describes as 'the workspace of the future.' Contrary to speculation, Barn X is not a secret game development hub, nor is it a result of massive expansion (Duncan mentions they typically add 10 to 15 new hires annually). Instead, the new mass timber building is home to the game teams working on the upcoming Everwild, the ongoing Sea of Thieves, as well as the firm's engines and services teams. 'We have a bit of everything in Barn X,' Duncan explains. 'We have art, tech, game teams… but we also have flexibility.' The primary goal of Barn X is to bring together teams that need to collaborate, providing a space that fosters creativity and productivity. When Rare's current studio was first built, each barn housed a different team working on a distinct project. However, with the growth of game development teams, it became challenging to accommodate everyone in the same building. Barn X aims to address this issue by providing a spacious, configurable environment that can accommodate 85 employees, more than double the capacity of the other barns. The studio has also added a training and development center, expanded its wellbeing area, and increased its meeting and quiet spaces. One of the notable features of Barn X is its emphasis on sustainability. The building is constructed with advanced sustainability features, including a solar farm on the grounds, which will save enough electricity to power over 438,000 Xbox Series X consoles. The barn is fully monitorable, allowing Rare's facilities team to identify areas of excess power consumption and take corrective action. The energy use is a significant aspect of the building's design, but it also features numerous other sustainability elements, such as being LEED Gold certified, using condensed water from chillers to flush toilets, and being entirely electric without using gas. The mass timber building is made of wood that requires limited treatment, and when Rare is finished with the barn, it can be easily disassembled without the need for a wrecking ball. The design team prioritized creating a neurodiverse-friendly environment, incorporating features such as meeting spaces, quiet areas, and focus zones. 'Like all creative projects, you want stakeholder input,' Duncan says. 'So we tried to have the right forums to hear from those who were going to use the space. Neurodiversity came up pretty early, and it was something that our team, like sustainability, has a lot of passion for.' Rare's commitment to creating a unique and supportive work environment is evident in the design of Barn X. The building seamlessly integrates with its surroundings, and the studio's emphasis on sustainability, creativity, and collaboration is palpable. As Duncan concludes, 'We pride ourselves at Rare at doing things creatively different. We think about games differently so that we can create experiences that are genuinely new. And the work environment has to encourage that. We need to create a space where people can be themselves, feel natural, feel supported, feel collaborative, and that feeds into the games we make.'