Xbox boss Phil Spencer has hinted that a new Banjo-Kazooie title could be in the works.
The original Banjo-Kazooie was released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 and was followed by three sequels and a spin-off racing game with the last game in the series (Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts) coming in 2008.
Since then, the games have been re-released for Xbox while the original Banjo-Kazooie was added to the Nintendo Switch Online library at the start of last year, but there’s been no news about further additions to the series.
However, in a new interview with Windows Central, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has hinted that new Banjo-Kazooie adventures could be on the cards. “You’ve seen from our history that we haven’t touched every franchise that people would love us to touch,” he said, before he added “Banjo fans, I hear you.”
“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,” he continued. “There has to be passion in the team behind the projects.”
“I want our fans and customers to know that I don’t bring up games just to tease to no end. If people have watched how we’ve teased things in the past, there’s usually some kind of reconciliation of those hints later on. I’m not one to try and lead people on. It might not happen on the timeline that people would love, but usually when I tease, there’s something there.”
Back in July, the original creators of Banjo-Kazooie explained why a new game in the series was unlikely. “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 composer Grant 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… I don’t feel like there are that many Banjo fans out there.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Spencer confirmed that Xbox Game Pass would not be coming to PlayStation or Nintendo consoles.
In other news, Remedy Entertainment has seemingly confirmed a new Game Plus mode for Alan Wake 2, via a not-so-subtle teaser on social media.