A couple of days ago, Playtonic announced that Ed Bryan — one of the character artists for Banjo-Kazooie who designed Mumbo Jumbo — was joining them. Fans immediately began speculating that Playtonic could be working on a brand-new Banjo-Kazooie title.
The catch here is that Microsoft is the current owner of Rare and, by association, the Banjo-Kazooie series — which added even fuel to the rumour's fire, as this could also mean that Playtonic was also being acquired by Microsoft in the same way that Rare was.
In all fairness, Playtonic being bought out by Microsoft didn't really make any sense, especially when considering that Playtonic already consists of former Rare employees, and them accepting to be acquire by Microsoft negates the whole purpose of the new studio.
As it turns out, and once the rumour got out of hand, Playtonic isn't working on a new Banjo-Kazooie title at all, and have also reassured fans that they will remain an independent studio; revealing that they would love to work on a Banjo-Kazooie title, but that isn't their choice any more.
Playtonic currently released the second title in the Yooka-Laylee series, which is actually a spiritual successor to Rare's Banjo-Kazooie; while the first game may have been a tad divisive among fans, its recently released sequel — titled Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair — has become an instant hit that has even been considered one of the best 2D platformer games ever made.
Whether Playtonic or Rare ever happen to work on a brand-new Banjo-Kazooie title still remains to be seen, but in the meantime fans of the iconic series have still the Yooka-Laylee series to scratch that itch for some classic 3D and 2D platforming.
GameFragger.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.