Rumored Banjo-Kazooie Game Is The Wrong Rare Revival

02.01.2024 - 16:03 / screenrant.com / Phil Spencer / Rare

Rumor has it a reboot could be on the way, but there's another Rare game revival that may never arrive. The first, released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64, is best described as a 3D collectathon platformer. Players control two characters — Banjo the bear and Kazooie the breegull — as they traipse across eleven worlds, picking up valuable music notes and puzzle pieces to progress. It's been praised for its innovative gameplay. Banjo and Kazooie each have unique abilities that make tackling certain levels easier, and learn more throughout the game. The game's charming sense of humor has also contributed to its status as an all-time classic.

received two mainline sequelsin 2000, and for the Xbox 360 in 2008. It also had two handheld spinoffs for the Game Boy Advance, and a spiritual successor in 2017's. However, the main franchise has been pretty quiet since 2008, despite ever-present rumors of a revival. Finally, new information shared by industry insiders suggests that the sequel many have been waiting for is just around the corner — but another classic Rare game deserves its day in the sun, too. Here's everything to know about the possibility.

According to a forum post by a user named Nate Drake, as shared on X (formerly Twitter) by @IdleSloth84_, a new game is in the works, but its development may be a little more complicated than expected. The forum post goes on to elaborate that the project may have been in the works for much longer, but wasn't officially greenlit until 2022. It also claims that developers are attempting to incorporate scrapped ideas from previous games, and that development may have been restarted at some point. This was further confirmed in a Quote Tweet by insider @XCloudTimdog, who mentions off-the-record talk of a reboot several years prior.

Between conflicting accounts, the lack of official confirmation, and rumors of development complications, however, it's difficult to say just what stage the rumored reboot is at — if it even exists, that is. At this point, it's a repetitive cycle: new rumors arise every year or so, and run rampant until developers shoot them down, leaving the ultimate decision on 's future up to Rare. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer refuted similar rumors in 2021, and it probably won't be long until someone at Rare comes forward to clear the record on the latest batch. But is far from the only classic Rare game that deserves a reboot.

After the success of and its sequel, Rare followed up with an entirely different kind of game in 2001. was also a 3D platformer released for the N64. It put a little more focus on puzzles than the original, with a simpler set of platforming abilities and fewer items to collect. It still starred cute, fuzzy animals — except