Before Microsoft acquired Rare as a first-party developer for the Xbox platform in 2002, there was a bidding war over the former Nintendo developer, and Activision almost came out on top.

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"So we put in a bid and then Activision outbid us, and it looked like we were going to lose the deal," Xbox co-creator Ed Fries explained on the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered , which debuts tomorrow.Thanks to a move by former Xbox head Robbie Bach at the eleventh hour, however, Microsoft was able to secure the studio. "And then at the very last minute Robbie increased our bid and we won the deal. And that was it," Fries said, adding, "Who knows what could have happened with Rare."Rare is currently working on a brand-new game for PC and Xbox One called Sea of Thieves shared a few gameplay hints about the upcoming title with us when he stopped by the office earlier this year. For more on Rare's shared-world pirate adventure, check out the debut trailer for Sea of Thieves

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter