Banjo-Kazooie Comments Clarified Following Xbox Controversy

Over the weekend, Xbox’s Aaron Greenberg found himself at the center of a new controversy surrounding Banjo-Kazooie. The VP of marketing at Xbox Games said at a recent event that “nobody cares about Banjo-Kazooie.” That comment began to circulate online, with many fans of the franchise sharing their frustrations with Xbox, and its lack of attention to the once successful series. Greenberg has since clarified his comments on X/Twitter, in a reply made to YouTuber JayWood2010. After JayWood2010 speculated that Greenberg’s sarcasm was lost in translation, the Xbox executive replied that was the case, and that he has a lot of love for the bird and bear pair.

“Correct, I absolutely know how much Banjo-Kazooie means to our fans and gamers everywhere. It holds a special place in my heart, growing up playing these classic games,” Greenberg wrote on X/Twitter.

Obviously, this clarification from Greenberg does not make it more likely that a new Banjo-Kazooie game will actually be released anytime in the near future. However, it does show that Xbox is not being dismissive of the series, and that’s something at least. If fans continue to remind Xbox that they want to see the series make a comeback, it’s possible a new entry could materialize. For that reason alone, it’s worth continuing to share demands for a new game, and mentioning it every time Xbox asks about franchises fans would like to see resurrected. That’s what Greenberg was responding to in the first place, and what led to all of this discussion over the last few days.

It should be noted that there are a lot of potential hurdles that might prevent a new Banjo-Kazooie from being developed, including the fact that we don’t know who would make the game. The current makeup of Rare is a lot different from the one that developed the Banjo-Kazooie games, and they seem to be pretty busy working on Sea of Thieves, a game that has been very successful for Xbox. There’s also the fact that Xbox just obtained the rights to all of Activision Blizzard’s old IPs, many of which have also been neglected for years.

Will Banjo-Kazooie ever make a comeback? It’s hard to say. Rare’s old franchises have certainly not been forgotten, as a new Perfect Dark is in development, and seems to be heading in a positive direction. We also just got a new BattleToads in 2020, which seemed pretty unlikely prior to the involvement of developer Dlala Studios. It’s possible Microsoft will eventually find a studio with a passion for Banjo-Kazooie that has the proper skills to do the series justice. For the time being though, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up too high. At the very least, the original games remain playable on Xbox platforms, and Banjo-Tooie will soon make its way to Nintendo Switch. The series might be dormant, but at least it hasn’t been forgotten!

Do you think we’ll ever see a new Banjo-Kazooie? Are you happy for this clarification from Greenberg? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!