Sadly, as previously mentioned, Microsoft owns the rights to Banjo-Kazooie and doesn’t appear to want to surrender ownership anytime soon, so the group of determined Rare Ware veterans have announced that they plan on making a “spiritual successor” to everyone’s favorite bird and bear combo — provided they can get enough support from the community.
So far the project has Grant Kirkhope (the series’ composer) and artist Steven Hurst on board, which means that fans of the original are in for a very authentic Banjo-Kazooie-inspired atmosphere. Despite being assured a very familiar look and feel, this game is in no way affiliated with Rare or Microsoft, so this will not be the Banjo-Threeie that fans have been longing after for the past decade or so.
Development on the title hasn’t even begun yet, but the staffers created a Twitter account in order to gauge the interest in the project. The Twitter handle, for anyone hoping to show support for the game, is @MingyJongo, and their follower count has continued to grow exponentially since gaming news sites got wind of this story.
Right now it appears as if Unity will be the engine used in this “spiritual successor,” which oddly enough comes shortly after Nintendo announced that it’ll support Unity on its upcoming Wii U console. Whether or not this ties into the plans of the small development team is unknown, but it would be great to see some former Rare staff return to work on a platform-exclusive for the company that gave them their start. That being said, chances are it’ll also arrive as a multi-platform title for Xbox 360, PS3, or PC; provided it gets the necessary funding.
There’s not much additional information on the spiritual follow-up to Banjo-Twooie, but word is that it may land on Kickstarter in the near future. In the meantime, fans should follow Mingy Jongo on Twitter to show their support, and stay tuned to Game Rant for more information on the currently unnamed game.
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Follow me on Twitter @TheRileyLittle for more news on the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, as well as all other gaming news.
Source: Mingy Jongo
