It's a damn same that it's been so long since Rare graced us with a new entry in the Banjo-Kazooie series. Granted, 3D platformers aren't as popular as they once were, but the Nintendo 64 classic remains a firm favourite for its vibrant worlds packed with imaginative characters, secrets, enemies, and challenges.
To many gamers, it was the quintessential late 90's platformer. While I was always more of a Super Mario 64 man, I could totally see why. The original Banjo Kazooie launched in 1998, and was swiftly followed by a fantastic sequel, also on N64. Then Microsoft acquired Rare in 2002, and a couple of fairly naff sequels and spinoffs saw the franchise put on ice.
Have you ever seen the Banjo Kazooie character reveal for Super Smash Bros Ultimate? Watch it below, it's still an iconic moment.
These days Rare is pretty busy with the excellent Sea Of Thieves and a handful of other brand-new projects, but it seems the success of Xbox Game Pass could one day result in a new developer taking over the reins for a proper Banjo-Kazooie reboot.
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According to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, Game Pass and its vast library of classic titles has given Microsoft a fresh opportunity to reassess old games and their potential for reboots/new entries.
Speaking on the latest episode of the subscriber-only Kinda Funny Gamescast (thank you VGC), Spencer says Game Pass allows Microsoft to track how popular older games are, thereby providing an easier argument to greenlight new instalments in certain series.
"Seeing more people playing something like Prey, or Dishonored or going back to Fable and [that] you can talk about those games, for us as we sit back as a creative organisation and watch what people are interested in, it gives us more data to think about things that we might pick up and take forward with new ideas and new teams that might want to go do that," he explained.
"So yeah, Game Pass has definitely been a great source... It was amazing when Bethesda came in and we were able to put so many of the 'old new' games into Game Pass and going back with the legacy that we have with some of the IP... even thinking about Rare Replay was a really interesting thing for us to go do and letting people go and experience some of the old Rare IP."
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In other words, if you want a new Banjo Kazooie game? Get your butt onto Game Pass right now and play it. Tell your friends, and spread the word.
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft