Iconic Banjo-Kazooie composer Grant Kirkhope would love to work on another game in the series, if they were ever given the chance. But will it ever happen?
Since the series last entry, Nuts and Bolts, in 2008, Rare’s iconic 3D platformer series has been large absent. While brilliant new ports have just released for the indie Evercade platform and Spyro developer Toys for Bob have expressed a desire to work on a Banjo title, nothing has ever come of it.
For Kirkhope, if there is to be another Banjo Kazooie, he wants to be involved. “Absolutely,” he said in an upcoming episode of our FRVR Podcast. “Sign me up.” Kirkhope explained that “there are lots of games that would reel me in”, explaining that he’s “not elitist” about the types of games he composes for.
“I used to always say there’s zero chance of another Banjo Kazooie game and right now I feel there’s a slight chance,” Kirkhope told us. “So, [I’ve] gone from ‘no way’ to ‘that’s as far as I’m going to get with it.”
Kirkhope also explained that the lack of a new Banjo Kazooie game isn’t due to a lack of interest from studios outside of Rare. “I do know of like three companies that have actually physically pitches to Microsoft or to Rare about making another Banjo Kazooie game, and I don’t think anyone was successful.”
As for a future game, Kirkhope explains that “Rare would never do it because they’re too busy”, and they’d need to find someone who understands the ‘very Brit humour” of the series. Right now, Kirkhope believes that Day 4 Night Studios, who is currently working on Bradley the Badger, would be a decent fit, but that all requires Rare to let someone else work on their IP.
“Rare just typically say no to everything.” Kirkhope explained. “I’ve known people present cartoons to them, all sorts of ideas, and they just say no to everything… I feel like the gatekeepers at Rare, since Craig Duncan just left, it’s a little bit different right now with the two guys that run it now, so maybe they’re a bit more open to discussion.”
Kirkhope also hopes that Microsoft is more open to allowing someone else to play with Rare’s toys. With the freshly-independent Toys for Bob working with Spyro the Dragon, there is hope that Microsoft is willing to let more studios experiment with their IPs, especially the ones that have been gathering dust for decades.
“I feel like Microsoft would be probably more open to discussion now just because they need the games and the new lady [Asha Sharma] that runs it is like, ‘We need to use our existing IPs.’ No sh*t. Who thought that was a good idea? So perhaps there’s a hope.”
The composer also explained that Rare is seemingly more willing to do something with Banjo Kazooie nowadays, highlighting the recent vinyl releases and merchandise of the iconic platformer. Microsoft has also played nicely by allowing Banjo-Kazooie to be included in Super Smash Bros Ultimate and have both the first and second games available on Nintendo Switch Online.
At the time of writing, there hasn’t been a new Banjo-Kazooie game in 18 years, but fans are still holding out hope for a sequel. Will it ever happen? Who knows? But fans and Kirkhope want it to happen eventually.
