Banjo-Kazooie recently turned 25, and with that anniversary came the news that several of the key creatives behind the series – designer Steve Mayles, composer Grant Kirthope and programmer Chris Sutherland – had expressed doubts that there was an audience for more games in the franchise.
Now, Rare co-founder Tim Stamper has thrown his hat into the ring. Posting on Twitter, Stamper – who sold Rare to Microsoft in 2002 – lauded the original game as a "carefully constructed masterpiece" before adding that he "always intended for the franchise to grow with the audience over a number of games, but…"
The original game sold over three million copies on N64, as did its 2000 sequel. The GBA titles Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge and Banjo-Pilot didn't perform quite as well, and 2008's Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts divided both critics and the general public alike.
Despite appearing in Smash Bros. and seeing a re-release on Nintendo Switch recently, the series has been largely dormant since Nuts & Bolts. While the bear and bird duo have a strong following on Nintendo systems, it would seem that their current owner isn't really sure what to do with them.