Phil Spencer Knows That Banjo-Kazooie Fans Really Want Another Game

thegamer.com:

Microsoft games boss Phil Spencer has acknowledged the calls for a new Banjo-Kazooie title, saying, "Banjo fans, I hear you". While this is far from confirmation that a new game is in the works, it implies that the series is still being kept in mind and that Xbox knows fans would love a new game after all these years.

This comes from an interview with Windows Central, in which Spencer sheds some light on Xbox's ongoing plans for this console generation. Banjo-Kazooie is only brought up once, but it's curious to see the series mentioned at all since there hasn't been an instalment since Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts - which just turned 15 last month if you can believe it.

The topic of Banjo was brought up when Spencer was discussing Xbox's plans for its evergrowing library of franchises - particularly now that it owns all of Activision Blizzard's work too.

"You've seen from our history that we haven't touched every franchise that people would love us to touch - Banjo fans, I hear you," says Spencer. "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."

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was a huge departure from the first two games, so for some fans, the last true Banjo game was Banjo-Tooie, released in 2000.

To see Spencer use Banjo-Kazooie as an example when there are so many other long-dormant franchises to choose from is very interesting indeed. The series only ever had three main games - two under Nintendo, and one after Xbox bought developer Rare. It's often seen as one of Microsoft's most wasted IPs, since the company has done little of note with the character since the Rare acquisition. Still, Banjo has retained a cult