A new Banjo-Kazooie game is rumored to be announced during the Microsoft E3 2019 presentation. According to not-so-subtle hints posted LeakyPanda, a Twitter user with a prior history of correctly predicting Nintendo Direct presentations and the Fortnite Switch port before its release, a new Banjo announcement is set to take place on June 9, 2019. This is the same day as Microsoft’s E3 2019 event, the company with ownership of the Banjo license due to its acquisition of Rare.
LeakyPanda posted an image of a woman playing a banjo on Twitter, accompanied by the caption: “You only need one word: Yes.” They then added an image of a mole — presumably a reference to Bottles, a familiar Banjo character — alongside the caption: “Listen Up! Don’t get too crazy. Expect this on the 9th.”
This follows a previous tweet from the game merchandise store Exquisite Gaming, which shared a render of Banjo-Kazooie and insinuated that new merch related to the iconic characters is set to arrive soon. “We can’t wait to bring back Banjo,” Exquisite posted in response to the fan account #BringBackBanjo, adding: “not long till we officially announce!”
The tweets from LeakyPandy can be viewed below:
Hear what the mental health mole has to say: pic.twitter.com/LglKjxiGMc
— LeakyPandy (@LeakyPandy) June 5, 2019
Fans have requested a new entry in the Banjo-Kazooie series for years now, with the last entry in the series being 2008’s divisive Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. The mascot appeared in 2015’s Rare Replay, a compilation of classic Rare games, but hasn’t fronted a new release in over a decade.
It was predicted that Banjo would make an appearance in Smash Bros Ultimate as DLC, with Microsoft expressing interest in bringing the character to the fighting game. Nintendo and Microsoft have worked closely together in order to allow cross-play between the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One, so this is still a possibility, though this rumor instead suggests that a new Banjo game is on its way rather than the character making a cameo appearance in a different franchise.
Nothing has been confirmed by Microsoft nor Rare at this point, with the latter still hard at work on Sea of Thieves. However, as Microsoft owns the license, it could contract another studio to work on a new Banjo game, or Rare may have divided up its team to begin work on a new entry in the platforming series, while also continuing to tinker with its popular multiplayer game.
Take these rumors with a pinch of salt for now, but keep it tuned to GameRevolution on Sunday, June 9 to see if these predictions are accurate.
