Rare loses the veteran behind Banjo-Kazooie

One of Rare's most veteran employees is stepping down today, namely Gregg Mayles. He has served the company for 36 years and has been involved in virtually its entire journey, from creating several classic NES titles (Battletoads, Solar Jetman) to becoming masters of graphics during the Super Nintendo era, subsequently dominating the Nintendo 64 era before being acquired by Microsoft.

For anyone hoping for a new Banjo-Kazooie, this is particularly bad news, as Mayles was one of the main creators of the original, but he has also been involved in titles such as Donkey Kong Country, Kameo: Elements of Power, Viva Piñata, and most recently Sea of Thieves. He was also one of the key figures behind Everwild, which was unfortunately recently shut down, and which, one suspects, contributed to his decision to move on to other opportunities.

He does not specify what he will do next, but considering that he is only 54 years old, we suspect that retirement is not on the cards. Whatever he decides to do, we wish Mayles the best of luck and would like to take this opportunity to thank him for providing us with incredible entertainment over the years.