Summary
Last year, an insider who goes by the alias NateDrake on ResetEra claimed thata Banjo-Kazooie reboot had been in development since 2022. However, Windows Central co-managing editor Jez Corden says otherwise.
When discussing the rumours on the XB2 podcast, Corden flat out said that “it’s not” happening. “I can tell you right now, categorically, there is no Banjo game in development as of this podcast on the 26th of June, 2024,” Corden said. “There is no Banjo game in development right now.”
Corden said they “don’t know if never” is the right word—maybe Xbox will greenlight a Banjo game in the future—but nothing is happening with the series at the moment.
Banjo-Kazooie hasn’t had a new game since Nuts & Bolts in 2008. The most we’ve seen of the duo in the 16 years since is their appearance inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateas playable fighters and through their classic games in the Rare Replay remasters. Banjo-Kazooie has been left to gather dust.
While the Banjo-Kazooie reboot might be little more than a rumour at this point—if Corden is correct—Xbox head Phil Spencer has addressed the call for a new game before.
“You’ve seen from our history that we haven’t touched every franchise that people would love us to touch - Banjo fans, I hear you,” Spencer said at the end of last year. “But it is true that, when we find the right team and the right opportunity, I love going back to revisit stories and characters that we’ve seen previously.”
Banjo-Kazooie was originally a Nintendo series until Xbox bought developer Rare, making it one of the three mascot platformers from a rival console that Microsoft now owns. It sits alongside PlayStation iconsCrash BandicootandSpyro the Dragonwho were folded into the Xbox umbrella after the Activision Blizzard King buyout. However, the now-independentToys For Bob appears to be teasing a new Crash game, so at least one of them might be escaping franchise purgatory.
Banjo-Kazooie
WHERE TO PLAY
Banjo-Kazooie is a legendary platformer from Rare, and launched on Nintendo 64 in 1998. Gruntilda, a nasty witch, has kidnapped the sister of Banjo the bear, and together with his bird friend Kazooie, he must rescue her.
