Ever since Rare was acquired by Microsoft in 2002, fans have been pining for the revival of its trademark IPs, such as Conker and Banjo-Kazooie.
Truth be told, Xbox did attempt to do something with those franchises in the first few years since the acquisition. Rare released Conker: Live & Reloaded (featuring a remake of the original installment Conker: Bad Fur Day) on the original Xbox in 2005, while Banjo-Kazooie fans had to wait until 2008, when Rare released the brand new Nuts & Bolts game for the Xbox 360.
However, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts largely diverged from previous games in the platform franchise. Its gameplay was more focused on vehicle construction (which was excellent for the time, powered by Havok physics) rather than traditional platforming. The game’s focus on building/crafting was certainly way ahead of its time, and it didn’t sell nearly as well as Microsoft and Rare had hoped.
To this day, Nuts & Bolts remains the latest entry in the series. It has been repackaged in Rare’s Replay, released in 2015 for the UK studio’s 30th anniversary, but there’s been no more solace for Banjo-Kazooie fans from Rare, unless you count the Bear & Bird Figurehead added a few years ago in Sea of Thieves. Thankfully, a few ex-Rare developers founded Playtonic and created a fairly successful spiritual successor, Yooka-Laylee, which is now getting a remaster called Yooka-Replaylee with improved art, animations, moveset, camera, controls, and soundtrack.
But are Rare and/or Microsoft planning to do anything with Banjo-Kazooie? According to Windows Central’s Jez Corden, absolutely not. Speaking on the subject during the latest XB2+1 podcast, he said:
I can tell you right now, categorically, there is no Banjo game in development. As of the recording of this podcast, there is no Banjo game in development.
Rare is certainly busy with the continued support of Sea of Thieves, especially following the launch on PlayStation, and with the development of Everwild, which remains a mystery. Microsoft would have to choose an external partner to make a game based on the IP.
Would you like to see the dynamic duo return in some capacity, or should they be left in the past?
