Developer Toys for Bob has made quite a name for itself over the last decade. Having reworked the original Spyro the Dragon trilogy and created a successful new entry to the Crash Bandicoot series, the team knows what makes retro 3D platformers work. While the studio is currently in the finishing stages of Spyro: A Realm Beyond, the first new game in the plucky purple dragon’s series in almost 20 years, that doesn’t mean it’s not looking towards the future. In a recent interview, the team stated that it would love to work on Banjo-Kazooie if given the chance.
Speaking to Kinda Funny Games on its most recent podcast, associate creative director Lou Studdert said, “It’s a franchise we love. As platformer fans, Banjo’s top of the heap. We have some huge, huge fans of that franchise on our staff… So, if the opportunity ever arose, that’d be amazing. We love the franchise.”
Toys for Bob studio head Paul Yan concurred, adding, “If you look at the through line of the types of games that we like to make, I imagine that that’s part of that staple as well.” Going on to describe Banjo-Kazooie’s characters as “timeless,” Yan explained that he hopes Toys for Bob can create a similar timelessness with its games that will stick with players forever. “We call it ‘the inner child’, right?”
Sadly, nobody knows what is going on with original Banjo-Kazooie studio Rare. Acquired by Microsoft in 2002, the company has never quite made a game on the same level of popularity as its Nintendo back catalogue. Microsoft has also been very layoff heavy, so there’s every possibility that Rare will wind up on the chopping block. Toys for Bob was even released from Microsoft’s control two years back, though thankfully the studio didn’t fold.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
