One of the most frequently asked for games the last decade is a new Banjo-Kazooie. Even though Microsoft on several occasions have shown that they haven't forgotten about this wonderful duo (not least with the Smash Bros. Ultimate guest appearance), nothing has materialised. Back in December, the Xbox boss Phil Spencer gave the fans some hope though, as he proclaimed: "Banjo fans, I hear you."
The fairly known and often trustworthy insider NateTheHate offered the waiting fans even more hope, when he last month said that a Banjo-Kaazoie game was greenlit at Microsoft back in 2022, although without revealing which studio that is making it. Now NateTheHate has backtracked from what he said to some extent, as he writes on ResetEra that it's still coming, but is being reworked:
"Last I heard it was being reworked from its original vision & scope, so it's going to be a bit. Honestly, spoke on it too soon."
We doubt Rare is involved in this game as they are still working on Sea of Thieves - which is about to be released for PlayStation and Switch - and the upcoming Everwild. A qualified guess is that Microsoft are collaborating with Playtonic Games, which largely consists of the original Banjo-Kazooie developers. They have previously developed two Yooka-Laylee titles, often considered spiritual sequels to Banjo-Kazooie, but suspiciously enough, they haven't made any new game since 2019, so they are up to something.
How interested are you in more Banjo-Kazooie?