Report: Rare classics like Battletoads returning in anthology

Adding fuel to earlier talk that Rare classics like Blast Corps and Banjo-Kazooie would be resurrected, Kotaku reports that a retail listing for "Rare Replay" is an anthology that could feature up to 30 games.

Earlier this year, Ken Lobb, the creative director for Microsoft Studios, said the company would bring back franchises like Perfect Dark, Viva Pinata and Battletoads at some point. He didn't specifically mention an anthology, but nothing rules that out as a first step, as Kotaku notes.

Significantly, head of Xbox Phil Spencer also wore a Battletoads t-shirt at a Windows event earlier this year (pictured), which generated a lot of chatter but no response officially from Xbox.

The number 30 is relevant because this is the 30th anniversary of Rare's founding. The company was instrumental as a developer for Nintendo in the late 1990s, delivering Donkey Kong Country and Goldeneye. Those game properties are owned by others, but Microsoft, as Lobb noted in January, has continually updated the copyrights for Rare games since it acquired the studio in 2002.

Microsoft is keeping mum about the listing for now, says Kotaku. It's likely we will hear more at its news conference today, which begins at 12:30 p.m. ET.