Grant Kirkhope – Don’t know if there will ever be a new Banjo

Grant Kirkhope – Don’t know if there will ever be a new Banjo

Grant Kirkhope, original composer for Banjo-Kazooie, talked with VideoGamesChronicle about the possibility of a new entry of the franchise.

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Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot he can really say. Kirkhope says that, simply put, “I don’t know if they’ll ever be a new Banjo”. Kirkhope also says that “I’m just a composer. I have no connection to that decision what-so-ever”.

The good news is that the reaction to Banjo-Kazooie in Smash Ultimate was heard loud and clear by Nintendo. 

Grant on a new Banjo

My honest opinion is I don’t know if they’ll ever be a new Banjo. It’s easy to go, ‘look at these numbers’, but it might be a drop in the ocean for Xbox. Is there a market for it? I just don’t know. I would think that Rare probably doesn’t have the appetite for it. They’re super busy with Sea of Thieves and that’s a gigantic game: it’s going to take the whole studio to keep making content for that.

Maybe the E3 reception has made Microsoft think about it, but the trouble is, if I say anything more definitive than that then the fans will think I’m in the know! When really, I’m just a composer. I have no connection to that decision what-so-ever. Gregg Mayles and Tim Stamper are the real inventors of Banjo…

I’m just the most visible on social media.

They (Nintendo) were surprised by how crazy it went. The E3 reveal seemed to be gigantic. When I was speaking to Nintendo back at their booth at E3, they were all saying it was a bigger reaction than they’re normally used to for Smash. So Nintendo did recognize that it was a big deal.

They were surprised. And we all were: it was such a huge release for all those fans who’ve been waiting so long for a new game. Rare need to find somebody like that who gets the game, who really loves it, gets the humour, comes up with a great plot and then kicks on.

They would need to find an external studio who really cares about the project and wants to do it, like they did with Killer Instinct and also similar to how Ubisoft Milan did a great job with Mario + Rabbids.

Well we can dream now can we, after Banjo making it to Smash and getting such a loud pop, perhaps Microsoft see his value now … or might even be willing to let him go to the Nintendo side. (yeah yeah wishful thinking I know).