While celebrating the 25th anniversary of Banjo-Kazooie, composer Grant Kirkhope revealed in an interview with VideoGamesChronicle that he doesn’t believe that a new game in the franchise is coming.
While finding an audience for a new game in the franchise would be difficult, Kirkhope also believes that a new Banjo-Kazooie game would need the right team to make it work.
“I feel like you’d have to get a team with the humour that we had back then and that’s hard to replicate,” said Kirkhope. “I think Rare would be open to somebody if they found the right team, but I don’t feel like that team exists. Also, I’m not convinced the audience is there either.”
The Banjo-Kazooie franchise has been largely dormant since the release of Rare Replay back in 2015. While Rare Replay was a collection of remastered older games, however, the most recent “new” Banjo-Kazooie game would be Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, which was released back in 2008 on the Xbox 360.
Over time, rumours have swirled around of potential revival of the iconic 3D platforming franchise, especially in light of the success of Spyro: Reignited Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time.
The only ways to play Banjo-Kazooie on modern system would be to either subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online to play the original Nintendo 64 version, or to grab Rare Replay on Xbox One to play a remaster.