It’s looking unlikely for another entry to the Banjo-Kazooie franchise, at least not one its fans are accustomed to. It’s no secret that the duo rose its developer to further fame and they continued to support the character’s exploits to satiate fans’ appetites. But, in 2008, the release of Nuts & Bolts, the franchise fell and it only came back as special characters appearing in third-party titles such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Aside from this, the prospect of Rare returning to its roots and making another game in the Banjo-Kazooie franchise itself was unlikely. Its current projects are drawing in enough attention to the studio and quite frankly, its new IPs are enough to keep them busy. This also wouldn’t truly be an entry to the franchise, either, as much of its original developers ducked out of Rare and are currently working for Yooka-Laylee‘s developer, Playtonic.
They aren’t opposed to remaking old properties, a Battletoads remake was announced, after all. That said, it isn’t even Rare putting in the dirty work as they’ve contracted Dlala Studios to develop the game itself.
Fans clung to hope for another entry to the franchise after the Nintendo Direct during 2019’s E3 when it was revealed Banjo-Kazooie would be a DLC fighter in Smash. This understandably led some to believe another game would be on the horizon. Alas, fans will have to wait for more news and considering no news has come out, it may be fair to say Rare, at least for now, wants to focus on brand-new IPs and its online multiplayer pirate adventure, Sea of Thieves.
