It’s no secret that Banjo-Kazooie has been largely squandered since the property was acquired by Microsoft. The series fell under the Xbox umbrella after Nintendo decided to sell its stake in Rare back in 2002. Xbox hasn’t released a new game in the series since 2008’s Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, a game which failed to really capture the elements that fans loved about the first 2 games on N64. While the characters remain in limbo at the moment, one developer is making it clear that they are interested in making a new game in the series: Toys for Bob.
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For those unfamiliar with Toys for Bob, the development studio is largely known for its work on the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon franchises. Following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Toys for Bob decided to become an independent studio, but it retains a close relationship with Microsoft, and is working on a new game that will be published under Xbox Game Studios. In a new interview with Canadian Guy Eh (via Video Games Chronicle), Toys for Bob studio head Paul Yan explicitly shared his desire to work on a new Banjo-Kazooie game.
“One company we’d like to work with is one we’re already working with; Team Xbox. They’ve been a great partner and they also have a very interesting roster of characters that Toys for Bob could have a lot of fun with,” Yan told Canadian Guy Eh. “The honey bear is the first one that comes to mind. I think we all can agree Banjo’s been hibernating long enough, right?”
The bad news is that Yan’s comment would seem to suggest that the new Toys for Bob game is not Banjo-Kazooie, as some might have hoped; that would seem to suggest that the developer could be working on another Crash Bandicoot or Spyro game. However, this might be one of the few times we’ve actually seen a developer publicly angling for a job working on the franchise. And the fact that it’s coming from a team Xbox seems to have a positive working relationship with bodes very well.
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In 2020, Xbox boss Phil Spencer was asked by Kotaku about the future of Banjo-Kazooie and Conker, and replied that “I leave it up to the studios in terms of the things that they want to go work on.” The implication being that he never looks to assign teams to cover properties just to get new games released, instead letting them pick. That explains one reason we haven’t seen a new Banjo-Kazooie game after all these years, as many teams have probably been hesitant to make a new game. It bodes well that the studio head for Toys for Bob is out publicly lobbying to do just that, but we’ll have to wait and see if Xbox decides to take Yan up on his offer.
Would you like to see Toys for Bob make a new Banjo-Kazooie game? Have you enjoyed the development team’s past games? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
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