Sega design chief joins Kinect Sports dev Rare

Former Sega design chief Simon Woodroffe is the new creative director of Kinect Sports developer Rare.

Simon Woodroffe, who was head of games design for Sega West, is the new studio creative director at Rare. He's in charge of all aspects of design at the Microsoft-owned studio.

Woodroffe, who has over 20 years of experience making games, was a designer on Simon the Sorcerer before forming Headfirst Productions and developing Call of Cthulhu for the Xbox. Since then he's spent time with Midway Games (Wheelman), Ubisoft and most recently with Sega, working on Renegade Ops and Sonic Generations.

Woodroffe said: "Games are my passion and they are Rare's passion so this is my dream role. I love working with talented and creative people and there are plenty of them here at Rare. I am looking forward to getting stuck into making incredible games that will be worthy additions to the pedigree of the studio."

Senior studio director Craig Duncan commented: "Simon's vast experience and knowledge are a fantastic addition to Rare's strong Design team. He has worked on many innovative titles over the years, including some really impressive R&D prototyping projects. He is a terrific all-rounder and the ideal person to head up our Design department. Rare is committed to making the best possible games experiences that inspire everyone to play, and we believe the best way to do that is to attract the brightest and best talent in the business."