Rare today revealed that the company is looking to restructure. The Microsoft owned studio is looking to better support Xbox Live and expand the Xbox 360's customer base all while maintaining their traditional level of quality. As a consequence of these plans, the British developer is considering layoffs for "a small number of current positions."

"As the entire industry struggles to address the increasing scale and cost of development, we too have felt a need to restructure our current approach so we can speed development and better manage the scale required to create high quality games," said Rare studio manager Mark Betteridge. "With four projects recently underway, now is the right time to make this change."

Microsoft recently announced a company-wide layoff plan after recent negative fiscal returns. Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios and Flight Simulator makers ACES were recently shut down.

"Throughout its history, Rare has demonstrated a willingness to embrace new approaches and commitment to delivering game-changing experiences to our customers," added Betteridge. "This announcement is no different and builds on that tradition as we work with MGS to make interactive entertainment as culturally relevant in people's lives as books, movies and television are today."