It’s official, Rare now belongs to Microsoft.

Speculation was it wouldn’t be finalized in time to announce it at the European Xbox event X02, but it turns out that’s exactly where it was made official. There’s a big press release on the deal at xbox.com. The price tag for MS to gobble up Rare and several of it’s top titles? Only a mere $375 million. Rare has already updated their web page to reflect this new phase of their existence including an open letter to their fans and a profile of KAMEO: ELEMENTS OF POWER, which is their first official Xbox title due in about 6 months. Titles that Rare will be bringing over to the Xbox include: Battletoads, Killer Instinct, Blast Corps (Hairboy should be in heaven), Banjo-Kazooie, and Perfect Dark.