Playtonic Is Not Making A New Banjo-Kazooie Game, Developer Says
The rumor mill can sometimes get a little out of control, and we're seeing an example of that today. Playtonic Games issued a statement this morning that the studio is not working on a new Banjo-Kazooie game, and also, that the company has not been purchased by Microsoft. And if you're wondering where all of this came from, you're not alone.
First, we'll hit on what Playtonic said this morning.
"We wanted to address the speculation currently swarming our mentions," Playtonic tweeted. "We hate to be the bearers of news that isn't what you want to hear, but we thought it best to come out and say – we aren't working on a new Banjo-Kazooie game and we remain an independent studio."
That seems pretty straightforward. There isn't a new Banjo in the works, and Playtonic has not been acquired by Microsoft nor anyone else. The question remains, though: why on Earth did people think this was happening?
The answer lies in a tweet from Playtonic's Ed Bryan, who underestimated the internet's ability to find clues in just about anything.
Well, I never really had any plans to use this again. pic.twitter.com/r3wS18vrrR
— Ed Bryan (@ItsMingyJongo) November 3, 2019
Ed Bryan, who previously worked as a Banjo-Kazooie character artist at Rare, simply needed a laptop bag to use. And he had one, it turns out; one with a Microsoft logo on it. It's not common for people to tote their old company's swag around at their new company, but Bryan needed to keep his laptop safe. So he sent out a tweet with a photo of the Microsoft bag and said, "Well, I never really had any plans to use this again."
And that's where things went off the rails.
Websites and message boards instantly seized on Bryan's tweet, believing it was a tease at Playtonic joining (or re-joining, in the case of some developers) the Microsoft family. And because of Bryan's past work on Banjo, some even drew the line to there being a new game coming in the series. All of that from one fairly innocent photo.
But it's not happening. There is no Banjo-Kazooie coming, according to Playtonic. And the company remains an indie.
"At first, we found it amusing that Ed Bryan's bag is being used as serious *evidence*, but we reckon it wouldn't be right if we didn't set the record straight," Playtonic said.