“Today was my last day at Rare,” posted Mayles. “Thanks to everyone who played and enjoyed any of the games I helped create while I was there. Also thanks to all the people that worked on the games alongside me.”

Mayles has worked with Rare for quite a bit of time, with his first work with the studio involving the game Solar Jetman from all the way back in 1990. Since then, he has served various roles on different projects.

He also went on to work as game director on some of the most critically-acclaimed and beloved games Rare has made, from Super NES title Donkey Kong Country, to Banjoe-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie on the Nintendo 64, and even Viva Pinata on the Xbox 360. Most recently, Mayles also worked as creative director on multiplayer pirate game Sea of Thieves.

Mayles’ departure from Rare also poses doubts on the future of the Banjo-Kazooie franchise, since he also worked on the last game that the franchise had seen – Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts on the Xbox 360. Earlier this year, composer of the first game in the franchise, Grant Kirkhope, had noted that he had “zero hope” for a new game in the franchise.

“I’ve said it before … but .. I have zero hope for another Banjo game, plus all you die hard fans would instantly hate it and slag it off no matter how good it was, it never works,” posted Kirkhope on social media back in January. Despite this, however, he also said that he would be open to working on the soundtrack for a potential new Banjo-Kazooie game.

The departure of Mayles was likely part of a larger restructuring taking place at Rare in light of the cancellation of Everwild back in July. At the time, reports had indicated that, along with the game itself being cancelled, there would also be some changes coming to how Rare has functioned.

Interestingly, back in September, former Rare executive producer Louise O’Connor saw a major promotion, being appointed as the chief of staff for Xbox Game Studios as a whole. O’Connor had worked on quite a few projects at Rare before the promotion, with her first credit with the company showing up on adult-comedy platforming title Conker’s Bad Fur Day on the Nintendo 64 all the way back in 2001.

In the meantime, Rare has also confirmed that it is changing up how it releases content for Sea of Thieves. In a lengthy post, the developer revealed that, going forward, seasonal content for the multiplayer pirate game will be released over the course of three months in distinct phases. Along with this, it has also announced that the Sea of Thieves Insider Programme will be coming back in 2026.

“I’ve said it before … but .. I have zero hope for another Banjo game, plus all you die hard fans would instantly hate it and slag it off no matter how good it was, it never works,” posted Kirkhope on X.

For context, Kirkhope has been involved with the Banjo franchise since the first game, having worked on music for the original Banjo-Kazooie, the sequel Banjo-Tooie, as well as Xbox 360 title Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. His comments on a potential sequel not happening came after answering a fan’s question on whether he would be open to working on a new game’s soundtrack. “Of course,” he responded.

This isn’t the first time that Kirkhope has spoken about how there will likely not be a new Banjo-Kazooie game. The composer revealed in an interview back in 2023 that the studio that originally made the game would be open to it if it had the right team for it, “but I don’t feel like that team exists,” said Kirkhope. “Also, I’m not convince the audience is there either.”

While no real news about a potential new Banjo-Kazooie sequel has popped up, Xbox executive Aaron Greenberg spoke about the franchise back in October, mentioning that he understands how much the franchise means to its fans. However, despite this statement, Microsoft has been quiet about the title despite having owned the IP for quite some time now. The most we’ve seen about Banjo-Kazooie is the inclusion of the first two titles to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, allowing players to play classic Nintendo 64 titles.

There have been rumours, however, that indicated that a new Banjo game might be in the works. These rumours stated that the new game would be a reboot of the original, with a complete overhaul of vision and scope. There has been no official word, however, and even rumours haven’t been able to speculate about what studio would be working on the title.

July 2024, however, brought about a new rumour that might dash the hopes of Banjo fans. The rumour indicated there is no Banjo-Kazooie game in the works. This is despite the fact that an earlier rumour stated that a Banjo project had been greenlit back in 2022. Interestingly, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has also spoken about Banjo-Kazooie back in 2023, also stating that the title would work “when we find the right team, and the right opportunity”.

In the mean time, aside from replaying the originals, the closest Banjo fans can get to experience the same kind of gameplay would be to either go with other titles like Yooka-Laylee, or perhaps go the Nintendo route with its Mario titles. Fans of the characters might also want to look at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where Banjo-Kazooie were added to the platform fighter’s roster.

Of course

— Grant Kirkhope (@grantkirkhope) January 22, 2025

I’ve said it before … but .. I have zero hope for another Banjo game, plus all you die hard fans would instantly hate it and slag it off no matter how good it was , it never works.

— Grant Kirkhope (@grantkirkhope) January 23, 2025

On July 1st, Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts will be playable via the cloud. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, an acclaimed Paper Mario-style RPG, will also be available for cloud, consoles and PC alongside Gang Beasts and Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars. If that weren’t enough, Playdead’s iconic platformer Limbo is coming to the service as well.

Interestingly, Judgment wasn’t announced for the subscription service despite a recent tease. Perhaps we’ll see it added later. In the meantime, some titles will be leaving Xbox Game Pass on June 30th so play them now while you have the chance. The games in question include:

• Battle Chasers: Nightwar (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• The Messenger (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Mistover (PC)
• Monster Hunter World (Cloud and Console)
• Out of the Park Baseball 21 (PC)
• Outer Wilds (Cloud and Console)
• Soulcalibur 6 (Console)