Xbox head Phil Spencer acknowledges the demand for a new Banjo-Kazooie game – “Banjo fans, I hear you”

The comments come from a recent interview

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It’s been a tough few years for fans of the historic platformer seriesBanjo-Kazooie,but Xbox head Phil Spencer has now acknowledged that he’s aware of the demand for a new installment.

Once a staple of the Nintendo 64 catalog, the original game launched all the way back in 1998 and remains one of the console’s most iconic and well-regarded games to this day. A 3D platformer where you play as the titular bear and bird duo, it was a major step forward in terms of 3D environmental design and laid much of the genre’s foundations to this day.

Following a series of sequels, however, and the franchise’s ownership transferring toMicrosoftwith their acquisition of developer Rare in 2002, we now haven’t seen a newBanjo-Kazooietitle since the underwhelmingBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Boltsin 2008. That’s well over a decade with a distinct lack ofBanjo-Kazooiecontent, which seems particularly long when you consider the series’ continued following and the success of many spiritual successors from other developers, like Playtonic Games’Yooka-Laylee.

However, speaking in arecent interview with Windows Central, Xbox head Phil Spencer was asked about a range of Xbox-owned franchises that might see a return, and made reference to the beloved 3D platformer series.

“Some of the lessons we’ve learned from past experiences here are very important.” he explains, “You’ve seen from our history that we haven’t touched every franchise that people would love us to touch —Banjofans, I hear you. But it is true that, when we find the right team, and the right opportunity, I love going back to revisit stories and characters that we’ve seen previously.”

Although it’s not a huge swathe of information, this is easily the most that Microsoft has said onBanjo-Kazooiefor quite some time. We’re optimistic that, if the circumstances are right, we could be seeing a new entry on theXbox Series X|Sin the future.

For top games that you can play right now, see our guides to thebest Xbox Series X gamesor thebest indie games.

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Dash is a technology journalist who covers gaming hardware at TechRadar. Before joining the TechRadar team, he was writing gaming articles for some of the UK’s biggest magazines including PLAY, Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX. Now, when he’s not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.

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