Over the past few days, you may have stumbled across rumours and speculation suggesting that Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic Games is either working on a new Banjo-Kazooie title, or that it has been acquired by Microsoft. Neither of these things are true.
The rumours appear to have started soon after it was revealed that former Rare artist Ed Bryan had joined Playtonic. Amazingly, a large part of the speculation was centred around one of Bryan's tweets, in which he shared a photo of a Microsoft bag.
Further speculation soon started appearing thanks to LinkedIn profile updates and the like, but Playtonic has now set the record straight with the following message:
So there you have it. Playtonic is still an independent studio and isn't making a new Banjo-Kazooie. And no, when someone uses a Microsoft laptop bag, that doesn't mean that they now work for the company.
Look at that 'X' at the end of the statement, though. Is that X for Xbox? (It's not, we're kidding). Or are we?
[source twitter.com]
Comments 32
This seems to happen a lot. People must love getting excited over the tiniest trivial details.
They just left. Why they was came back so soon?
The more I see Rare names jumping ship, the more I feel that the real Rare is PlayTonic and Rare the company may end up being Rare in name only if this continues.
Well, there is a reason why Yooka-Laylee was created in the first place. They want to make a new Banjo-Kazooie, but couldn't, because Banjo-Kazooie games do not sell on MS consoles. So the people then left MS, formed Playtonic and created Yooka-Lalyee instead, so that they can have a spiritual successor for Banjo-Kazooie.
I can understand why they want to push their own IP more. Banjo is sadly locked away behind legal issues and the new Rare isn't interested in making games like Banjo-Kazooie, but more in ones like Sea of Thieves, which for some reason sold really well. I personally can not see why, but I also have a pretty old-school taste when it comes to games.
I'm rooting for Yooka-Laylee in becoming the new Banjo-Kazooie from now on. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair did very-well with critiques and the upcoming graphical novel looks also pretty sweet. If we really want a new Banjo-Kazooie so baldy, we need to root more for Playtonic.
They should join forces with Nintendo, not Microsoft. They love Nintendo, and their games are similar to the ones Nintendo make. I don't know what they're waiting for haha
If this was another company then many of you would be calling this PR bull crap. They are a business and I would fully expect anything to happen in the future for where and what gets released.
It would be a terrible mistake to join Microsoft.
They absolutely ruined Rare.
It would be a repeat of 2002 (i think) if Playtonic joined Microsoft, seeing as they are mostly former Rare staff who left to form the studio to make games they wanted.
If they did join, it would annoy gamers alike.
If remaining independent is what it takes to keep making excellent games like Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair, I hope they remain independent forever. What a game!!!!
@Severian Aren't they already?
Look a Sony backpack ! And a Sony Walkman !
They must be working for Sony now !
@Madder128
Absolutely, Rare was reduced to making kinect shovelware.
@Severian
All that is left really is the name and the IP's
These guys don't need Microsoft, or Banjo Kazooie anymore. I am currently playing through Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair and they have blown my expectations on them as a studio out of the water! Every aspect of that game reminds me of why gaming became a lifelong passion to me in the first place.
@KitsuneNight @antster1983
I was actually being tongue-in-cheek earlier. Come on, even the playtonic logo looks a lot like the Rare logo for DKC and other games in the 90s.
@Madder128
Well, it was MS, Nintendo, and Rare themselves who ruined Rare.
@RareFan
I think in the end it's Rare's own fault they saw the money and went for it
and this is what they got.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinect_Sports:_Season_Two
@Madder128 agree 100%. When I think back to the quality of RARE's games in the 90's and today it's a sad state of affairs for sure.
Nintendolife getting something right is extremely...rare.
@Dpullam It’s such a creative game. I love finding all the overworld stuff. It really does feel like classic Rare.
@KitsuneNight
Didn't Nintendo sell Rare?
@hitherehello
Nintendo owned a 49% stake.
Rare stil called the shots because of that.
@Antraxx777 I very much agree!
@Antraxx777 @Dpullam Creative, huge and challenging. Finding all the stuff in the overworld is a nice challenge and getting all 5 coins in all stages is a harder one. Then comes level design and every detail the devs took care of. One the best games in recent times IMO (let's say in the decade)
Sneaky, sneaky intentional leak, Playtonic! We, the members of the internet video game fan base are onto your easy and obvious tease...begin the hype train, this teaser announcement all but confirms Playtonic really is working on a new Banjo & Kazooie!! For those of you that didn't notice it it, the proof is right in their "denial" note...it's pretty obvious! :
Sea of Thieves is fantastic. Nobody has ruined Rare. They probably made one too many Kinect games, but outside of that, they still do excellent stuff. Kinect Sports is actually excellent and Viva Piñata and Nuts & Bolts were proper good (even if the latter isn’t what fans wanted).
So I don’t go along with this ‘ruined Rare’ nonsense. AAA games just take more people and longer to make these days.
If they don't improve the terrible camera in Yooka Laylee, I don't want them anywhere near Banjo Kazooie
They're already making banjo and kazio with different characters why go back. Gaw huh?
Was this really even a rumour? Why would employees of a stifling mega conglomerate leave to form their own company and all the risks that accompany it just to take a buyout from the same company once theirs becomes independently successful?
For those arguing that Rare is "just as good today" with games like Kinect Sports and Sea Of Thieves, this is very clearly not the case — if Rare were the same caliber of company as it was in 1997, they would have scaled with Microsoft's financial backing to meet the increasingly taxing development needs of the 2000-2010s and would have released more than three memorable games in the past twenty years (not to mention a majority of their legacy staff including the company's founders wouldn't have left). Rare regrettably began to die a slow death the moment Microsoft acquired it, losing its spirit of independence and hunger to innovate.
The company went from creating back-to-back classics like Donkey Kong Country to Diddy Kong Racing, GoldenEye 007, Banjo Kazooie and Tooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64, and Starfox Adventures within a ten year span to creating barely three, possibly four memorable games in a span of two decades. A development company that is underused as much as Rare is under Microsoft is unfortunately and simply not a good experience, especially for its employees, who undoubtedly just want to do what they do and release a great, original title to the world without a lethal injection of Microsoft corporate values at every step of the development process.
@dew12333
I take it you’re well-read on business practices or have qualifications to make such a bold statement?
@Severian
Hardly a bold statement there, the same people sold out Nintendo and themselves in the past. And you can't say that they are playing on the 'old rare days'!
And yes I would hope my qualification as a 'rocket scientist' gives me ample credibility here.
@dew12333
I don’t know if you’re really a “rocket scientist” but speaking as someone who has both worked as an insider incorporating firms and also reporting on and analyzing them, I do think that you do sound certain and have a very dubious criteria for the amount of certainty you’re speaking with in your statement.
Normally, an organizational group is comprised of individuals, much like Rare and Nintendo are. Those individuals build personal and professional relationships. In one instance, yes, a corporate brand I worked with had its reputation tainted by one of the original founders, and what ultimately happened was that the new group that founded after the original was resolved was the same team who the clients loved, sans the jerk who made things miserable for employees and clients. So you’re speaking a bit broadly there.
In Silicon Valley, people might say that Uber is changed now that Travis is out, but that’s a superficial comparison at best and false comparison at worst because Travis still has influence and many of the policies and practices of Uber are the same problematic ones under Travis.
In the case of our company and Rare (and others I’ve reported on and analyzed), those bad influences are not present anymore, so you’re looking at things a bit broadly.
Here’s an article from a while back that might give you some context on Rare that shows it isn’t as simple as your broad statement alleges:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-08-who-killed-rare
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