The rise of classic titles returning to the modern area of consoles is a consistent release of the ol’ fan favorites. With new iterations of old classics, remakes and the such, one old school classic has been absent for over a decade and Toys For Bob studio head, Paul Yan, thinks it might be time to bring back our honey bear and bird combo once more.
Speaking in an interview with Canadian Guy Eh, Yan was asked what studio they would like to work with and what IP’s would they like to work on? Yan replied with “There’s so many, and that’s one of the exciting possibilities of being independent.” Toys For Bob were able to negotiate with Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard to become independent last year.
Yan continued, “One company we’d like to work with is one we’re already working with, Team Xbox. They’ve been a great partner and they also have a very interesting roster of characters, that Toys for Bob could have a lot of fun with. The honey bear is the first one that comes to mind. I think we all can agree Banjo’s been hibernating long enough, right?”
No one knows what exactly Toys For Bob are currently working on. However, Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, has mentioned in the past that any of Rare’s classic titles making their return would be up to Rare. Right now, Rare is still sailing the high seas with Sea of Thieves, which is currently in its 15th season with seasons 16 and 17 already in development. They are also currently working on Everwild. Remember that game? Everwild was first revealed in 2019 and recently resurfaced with Phil Spencer back in February stating “I was recently out at Rare. It’s nice to see the team with Everwild and the progress that they’re making.” It would appear that Rare would be far too busy to spin up a new Banjo game. However, it does leave the doors open for other studios that are close enough to Xbox and are currently partnered studios to bring back the honey bear.
Toys For Bob have a rather good track record when it comes to reimagining the old classic platformers and Banjo-Kazooie would certainly be a great addition to their portfolio of games. OR, are they already working on a new Banjo game? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
