Xbox veteran takes charge of Rare

One of the chief architects of Xbox's success and development has taken over Kinect Sports developer Rare as studio manager, Microsoft has announced.

Scott Henson, who will move from the US to Birmingham in January, has been with Microsoft for 16 years, working on the original Xbox, Xbox Live, Xbox 360, XNA Game Studios and Games for Windows Live. He played a key role on the hardware and software of the new Xbox 360 and motion-sensing add-on Kinect.

Henson joins the gang just in time for the release of Rare's first Kinect game: Kinect Sports, on 10th November in the UK.

Now it's time to get to know Scott. "Scott holds a Computer Electrical Degree from the University of Oklahoma where he also enjoyed football, music, basketball and coding. He's a big sports fan but also enjoys family time, travelling, skiing, hiking, swimming, cycling, working in the local community and of course family game nights playing both board and videogames," reads Henson's bio.

His favourite game is Diablo II, "which he claims is the 'perfect blend of art and arcade, simplicity and sophistication' however admits he's a big fan of the Halo franchise too, playing on a regular basis."

Rare was founded in 1982 by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper. It's perhaps best-known for creating N64 classic GoldenEye 007. In 2002 Microsoft bought the studio for a reported $375 million.

We'll have an interview with Henson up in the morning.