Banjo-Kazooie Composer Expresses Doubts About a Modern Revival of the Beloved Series

The Banjo-Kazooie franchise has been inactive for more than 16 years now, and composer Grant Kirkhope holds “zero hope” that this will ever change, even though he would gladly return to create music if it did.

This week on Twitter, Kirkhope, who composed music for the original game, Banjo-Tooie, and Nuts and Bolts, was asked if he would be interested in crafting the soundtrack for any new Banjo game if it ever came to fruition. His response was brief yet optimistic, “Of course.” However, does that imply something is truly brewing? According to the composer, it doesn’t seem like it.

A few hours later, he wrote: “I’ve mentioned it previously… but… I have zero hope for another Banjo title, and all you devoted fans would immediately dislike it and criticize it regardless of its quality, it never ends well.”

He clarifies that he doesn’t intend for this statement to sound harsh, emphasizing that “the Banjo fanbase is a wonderful community, and the excitement when Banjo entered Smash Bros. is a memory I treasure.” Yet, his viewpoint on the possibility of a new game seems unwavering. Last year, after hinting at something and quickly explaining that it wasn’t “Banjo-related,” he told a fan who said they “didn’t think they should expect any more Banjo” that they were “correct.”

Despite Kirkhope’s cynicism, Banjo hasn’t been completely forgotten in these past 16 years. As the composer notes, Banjo and Kazooie were incorporated into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as downloadable content in 2019, and in 2023, when asked about titles that could potentially be revived, Xbox leader Phil Spencer even mentioned Rare’s platformer by name. “You’ve seen from our history that we haven’t addressed every franchise that fans wish we would – Banjo enthusiasts, I hear you,” he informed Windows Central at the time. “However, when we find the right team and the appropriate opportunity, I enjoy revisiting stories and characters we’ve once known.”

Could the beloved series ever make a comeback then? If Spencer’s earlier remark is anything to go by, it doesn’t seem entirely out of the question, but the franchise’s composer clearly doesn’t want anyone to get their hopes too high.

Shigeru Miyamoto believed Banjo-Kazooie was so remarkable it influenced him to postpone Zelda: Ocarina of Time – “It’s so exceptional that we don’t want to be outdone.”

I’m one of the news writers for GamesRadar+, collaborating with the rest of the news team to bring you engaging gaming stories that we love. After dedicating countless hours to filling The University of Sheffield’s student newspaper with Pokémon and indie game content and earning a degree in Journalism Studies, I began my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then joined TechRadar Gaming as a news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about a variety of intriguing topics. In my leisure time, you can often find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 exploring narrative-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, tackling nuzlocke runs of classic Pokémon games, or hunting for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.