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

About a year ago, an eagle-eyed Rare fan spotted something unusual on Google Maps. The Xbox developer's headquarters, nestled in the heart of Manor Park, comprises a central building and four barns – A, B, C, and D. However, the discovery of a fifth, substantially larger barn sparked curiosity. What could the Sea of Thieves studio be working on? Recently, we had the opportunity to visit Barn X, Rare's newly built, sustainable office, which studio head Craig Duncan describes as the 'workspace of the future.' Contrary to speculation, Barn X doesn't house a top-secret Rare game, nor has the studio undergone significant expansion. Instead, the new, mass-timber building is home to the 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 have flexibility.' The new space aims to bring together teams that need to collaborate, allowing for more efficient communication and workflow. When Rare's current studio was first built, each barn housed a different team working on a distinct project. However, with the growth of games teams, it became impractical to have everyone working on Sea of Thieves in the same building. Barn X addresses this issue, providing a space 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 wellness area, and increased meeting and quiet spaces. One of the most notable features of Barn X is its emphasis on sustainability. The building boasts 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 action. The building is LEED Gold certified, recognizing its environmental design and construction, including the use of materials, acoustics, air filtration, and waste disposal. Condensed water from the chillers is reused to flush toilets, and the building is entirely electric, eliminating the use of gas. The mass-timber building is made from types of wood that require limited treatment, and when Rare is finished with the barn, the firm can disassemble it without the need for a wrecking ball. The design team prioritized creating a neurodiverse-friendly environment, incorporating 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.' Barn X seamlessly integrates with its surroundings, reflecting the studio's reputation for creating unique and charming games. 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.'