Three studios have pitched new Banjo-Kazooie games to Microsoft, says composer
Grant Kirkhope is feeling more optimistic about the future of Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooie composer Grant Kirkhope says he’s feeling more optimistic about the chances of a series revival and revealed that at least three studios have pitched a new game to Microsoft.
Like other core team members behind the original Nintendo 64 Banjo-Kazooie games, Kirkhope has previously cast doubt on the chances of the series coming back, even after the characters’ popular appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
However, speaking to FRVR this week, Kirkhope said he felt more optimistic following a change in leadership at developer Rare.
“I used to always say there’s zero chance of another Banjo Kazooie game and right now I feel there’s a slight chance,” the composer said. “So, [I’ve] gone from ‘no way’ to ‘that’s as far as I’m going to get with it.”
Kirkhope went on to claim that at least three external developers have “actually, physically pitched to Microsoft or Rare” about making a new Banjo-Kazooie game, although he said he’s not sure if any were successful.
The composer didn’t name the interested studios, although one is understood to be Toys for Bob, the Crash and Spyro studio that has been very vocal about its passion for the Banjo-Kazooie series.
Another developer said to be interested is Ori developer Moon Studios. Notably, one of the developer’s designers recently published an impressive-looking Banjo-Kazooie fan game in PlayStation’s Dreams.
Future of Banjo-Kazooie ‘is outside of Rare’
According to Kirkhope, the future of the Banjo-Kazooie series is likely to fall outside of Rare’s walls, because the Sea of Thieves studio is “too busy” with Sea of Thieves and other projects. He suggested that Rare might be more open to outsourcing the series than it previously has been due to a change of leadership at the studio.
“Rare just typically said no to everything,” he said. “I’ve known people present cartoons to them, all sorts of ideas, and they just say no to everything… I feel like the gatekeepers at Rare, since Craig Duncan just left, it’s a little bit different right now with the two guys that run it now, so maybe they’re a bit more open to discussion.”
Speaking to VGC in 2023 as part of an extended interview to mark Banjo-Kazooie’s 25th anniversary, a group of original Rare team members said they weren’t expecting a new game anytime soon.
“I wouldn’t have been able to be there working away on my own [today]… if we had to be constantly getting everything checked and approved,” said character designer Steven Mayles. “It was, ‘here’s a few lines describing a character’ and maybe a funny picture Gregg [Mayles] had drawn, and you were off.”
He added: “I don’t think that would work now on triple-A projects, if Banjo-Kazooie was remade, because things take so much longer to make. But in those days that was a big part of it for sure.”
