This is from an Ex-Ruffian level designer who now works at Ubisoft on Watch Dogs:

Rare working on jaw dropping stuff?

I wish I could share some of the jaw-dropping stuff the @RareLtd team is doing.

— Bjorn Toft Madsen (🐦 ➡️ 🐘) (@BjornToftMadsen) February 15, 2013

Microsoft Studios is looking for a talented, motivated, and experienced Design Director (also called Creative Director in many companies) with proven creative and leadership ability to work with external developers on Microsoft’s core titles (including shooters, RPGs, action/adventure, etc.). The Design Director’s mission is to support our experienced development partner’s creative vision and to ensure that the product’s ultimate quality is “first-party” -a wonderful experience only possible via the partnership between Microsoft and the developer. The Design Director has access and influence on platform hardware (e.g. consoles, peripherals, etc.) and system shell & back-end technology unlike anywhere else in the industry, and it’s the creative use of these tools that enable partners to create their best games ever.

The Design Director is an agent of quality and vision. Providing actionable and concrete feedback with the passion and temperance to pursue first-party quality and innovation is a must. The ideal candidate will also have a proven track record in hands-on design tasks at both the highest and lowest levels-from franchise vision to tuning of values.

Qualified individuals are expected to be organized, with excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) and have a proven track record in AAA game design. Above all, the Design Director needs to be able to create, from scratch. Strong problem solving and interpersonal skills along with positive creative energy are also important abilities. Applicants must have clear understanding and experience creating mission/environment design, AI, combat, strategy, game-flow, and balance.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Create compelling, innovative experiences from scratch.
- Collaborate and work closely with the MS leads and external partners to ensure AAA, “first-party” quality.
- Provide concrete and actionable feedback to external developers/teams.
- Advocate for, pitch, and drive a game’s vision internally and externally.
- Own the design relationship between Microsoft and the external partner.
- Use feedback from personal play-throughs, usability, and gameplay studies to improve the game in a meaningful way.
- Inspire, motivate, and mentor other designers in best practices, processes, and creative techniques.
- Help to develop level layouts, game flow, overall balance and general “first-party” experiences which fit the game.
- Be prepared and comfortable working directly in the tool suite to prototype ideas, lay out levels, or tune systems

QUALIFICATIONS:
- 12 + years minimum industry experience.
- Minimum of 3 Shipped AAA titles.
- AA/BA/BS preferred.
- Familiarity with engines and common designer tools: Unreal, Unity, CryENGINE, etc.
- Passion for the industry and an understanding of market trends and styles.
- Have a proactive work ethic, capable and creative problem solver who is not afraid of big challenges.
- Have a strong ability to multitask, following through on a wide variety and number of tasks from inception to completion.

http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Redmond-Game-Design-Director-IEB-Microsoft-Studios-%28823271%29-Job-WA-98052/2380424/

Lionhead Studios is seeking an experienced and enthusiastic tools programmer to work on an exciting and ambitious new title.
Demonstrating a passion for high quality work in an agile environment, the ideal candidate will be able to develop a variety of tools to support the management of assets, data and online services.
The role will focus on designing and implementing a rich, highly usable toolset to ensure that key studio workflows are efficient and productive.

Team/Department Mission
Are you a highly talented individual who enjoys a challenge and is brimming with drive and enthusiasm? Do you feel your skills and talents are waiting to find the right creative environment in which to thrive?
At Lionhead we strive to create successful, landmark games and to be one of the world’s most respected developers. To that end we are continually looking for bright, talented individuals to join our team. We are well aware that new employees and fresh ideas keep us the dynamic and creative Studio that we are!

Key Accountabilities:
•Development of tools to support asset management, data management and online service monitoring
•Work closely with users, designers and developers to create efficient workflows for the management and operation of key online services
•Ensuring usability of supporting tools whilst maintaining high quality and minimising technical debt
•Create and maintain lightweight technical and user documentation where necessary
•Communicate effectively with non-technical users and stakeholders

Key Success Criteria:
•Studio productivity is improved and maintained at a high level during Production
•Blocking issues and bugs are fixed promptly and correctly
•Existing tools and middleware solutions are identified, used where appropriate and modified when needed

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential Experience
•Proven experience of working with users to define and refine tools requirements
•Experience of developing responsive, usable and clean user interfaces
•Experience of implementing tools within a Microsoft technology environment , such as C#/ASP.NET, HTML5/Javascript and Python
•Knowledge of common web data formats, such as XML and JSON
•Experience of consuming asynchronous online APIs in client applications
•Demonstrated ability to work with existing codebases and middleware tools frameworks
•Strong problem-solving and debugging skills
•Working in an Agile/SCRUM environment as part of a multidisciplinary team

http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job...d-Job/2384421/

Wired
2ch find out there are 8 IBM persons joined MS at 2010 or 2012
And 4 of them are about A2

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/adam-muff/7/474/90b
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/matthew-tubbs/9/2b2/815
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-mejdrich/1b/108/214
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=5337399&authType=name&authToken=kDGg&goback=%2Enppvan_%2Frobshearer&trk=prof-pub-cc-name

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/gene-leung/6/183/2ab
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-faas/20/101/749
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ronald-freking/5/91/542
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steven-wheeler/a/7b2/997

And according to 2ch

Eric Mejdrich,Rob Shearer,Matthew R. Tubbs these 3 A2 guy also have patents about ray tracing

http://anago.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/ghard/1360665976/818

Just wondering but why is this thread sticky? There's nothing to really discuss yet anyway.

Hmm, so Rares return to core games, Lionhead Fable MMO, and MS internal AAA game in works.

I suppose after years of silence, they are bound to finally surprise!

I think it all comes down to matching the PS4's ram and being backwards.
I'd be happy to know at least that XBLA titles and Games on Demand are backwards.
If XBLA titles aren't backwards I would be a bit angry.

Anything else is just gravy, but i need BC and decent specs for $450 or less to buy.