With the franchise having been absent for nearly 17 years, ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ composer Grant Kirkhope has admitted he has “zero hope” there will ever be a new game.
‘Banjo-Kazooie’ composer Grant Kirkhope has “zero hope” there will be a new game in the series.
The 3D-platformer franchise – which debuted nearly 27 years ago with the eponymous title on the Nintendo 64 – has not been seen since 2008’s ‘Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts’, and the composer has admitted he thinks there is a slim chance publisher Microsoft will ever try to revive the series.
Taking to X, Kirkhope lamented: “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.”
In June 2024, Windows Central’s Jez Corden claimed there was “categorically” no ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ game being worked on at the time.
During an appearance on ‘The Xbox Two Podcast’, the industry insider said: “I can tell you right now, categorically, there is no ‘Banjo’ game in development as of this podcast. On 26 June 2024, there is no ‘Banjo’ game in development right now.”
Six months prior to that, Xbox head Phil Spencer acknowledged the rampant fan demand for a new ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ game, and teased Microsoft – which purchased ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ developer Rare in 2002 – could revisit the series if it found “the right team and the right opportunity” to do so.
He told Windows Central in December 2023: “You’ve seen from our history that we haven’t touched every franchise that people would love us to touch – ‘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.”
Banjo-Kazooie composer has ‘zero hope’ a new game will ever release
