More than two decades ago, brothers Chris and Tim Stamper cofounded Rare with company president Joel Hochberg. The pair stuck with the company from its days developing Nintendo Entertainment System games like R.C. Pro Am and Wizards & Warriors through its rise to prominence with the hit Nintendo 64 shooter GoldenEye and its eventual sale to Microsoft, which has so far yielded efforts like Perfect Dark Zero and Viva Pinata.

The Stampers' time at Rare is over, as Microsoft today confirmed a 1Up News report that the brothers have parted ways with the developer to pursue other opportunities. The publisher thanked the pair for their contributions to the studio and wished them luck in their future endeavors.

As for who will spearhead the company's development going forward, Microsoft is promoting from within. Mark Betteridge, a Rare employee of 19 years, will serve as Rare's studio director, while Gregg Mayles, "the creative force" behind Donkey Kong Country and Viva Piñata, among other titles, has been named Rare's creative director. Mayles will be responsible for overseeing all of the company's development as well as the creation of new intellectual properties.

Rare's next project is a new installment in its 3D platformer franchise Banjo Kazooie. Set for release on the Xbox 360, the game was originally announced at Microsoft's X06 press conference.

I would'nt blame them for leaving. Rare has done crap-all since Goldeneye.

Yes, while those seven games were decent, they were only decent. Nothing mind blowing. What happened to Donkey Kong Country? A new Battletoads on the N64 would've been awesome.