Former Rare devs form new studio for Banjo-Kazooie successor

By Will Fulton February 11, 2015

banjo kazooie might never return creators working something like project ukulele — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Playtonic Games, a new studio formed by former Rare devs, has teased a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, the Rare-developed series of platformers that originally launched on Nintendo 64 in 1998. The possibility of a successor was hinted at as far back as 2012 by former Rare devs on the MingyJongo Twitter account, but this is the first official announcement.

The studio’s debut game has the working title Project Ukulele. It currently has no release date, publisher, or platform commitment. More details will be revealed in the February 12 issue of Edge Magazine. In a NeoGAF post that hypes the upcoming interview, it is confirmed that Playtonic is interested in courting Nintendo: “There’s a history of working with Nintendo so we’d naturally love to see our game on a Nintendo platform. If people tell us to make Wii U our target console platform then we’ve got the flexibility to do that.”

The team at Playtonic is composed of veteran, lead developers from Rare, with a combined 108 years of experience at the famous British studio.

“We’ve got the bloke who programmed Donkey Kong Country, the character designer behind Banjo and Kazooie, and the artist who made your console fit to burst with lavish environments across a decade’s worth of adventure games,” explains an introduction on the studio’s website.

Follow Playtonic’s Twitter for more updates about the upcoming game, and look for details following the release of Edge’s interview.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

Gaming

What’s free on the Epic Games Store right now?

Robots attacking in Industria.

Checking in on the Epic Games Store is one of the easiest ways to grow your gaming library. Epic gives out a free game or two every week, ranging from darling indies to AAA titles. All you have to do is jump on the Epic Games Store to claim the free games and they'll be added to your library to keep forever.

Keeping track of all the free titles and gaming deals can be a pain, so we're monitoring the Epic Games Store for you. We'll update this article every time a new game is made available!
What's free on the Epic Games Store right now?
These games can be picked up on the Epic Games store right now for free. Scroll down to the Free Games section of the app's Discover tab or find the individual title using the search bar. Just find and select the Get button to claim your free game. You do not have to download or install it right away.

Gaming

Is Fallout 76 cross-platform?

fallout 76 nuclear winter cancelled cancel

We've all loved exploring the different regions of the wasteland in the Fallout series alone, but it wasn't until Fallout 76 that we had the chance to do so with friends. While it wasn't quite what people were hoping for at launch, years of support have made this an excellent world to explore and go on quests with friends in. While most games released in recent years support cross-platform play between consoles, Fallout 76 came out before that was the standard. If you've got a group of friends playing on different systems, will you still be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of the wasteland together? Here's what you need to know.
Is Fallout 76 cross-platform?
Fallout 76 does not support full cross-platform support. The only two platforms that can play on the same servers are Xbox and PC, but only in the case where PC players are accessing the game through Game Pass. If you are on a PlayStation console or bought the game on Steam, you will only be able to play with others on those respective platforms.

Considering how many years it's been since Fallout 76 launched, it is unlikely that cross-platform support will be added at this point. Should we be proven wrong, we will update this guide to reflect that.

Gaming

Sea of Thieves beginner’s guide: 16 tips for new pirates

sea of thieves how to play solo sanctuaryoutpost 2

Cooperative piracy simulator Sea of Thieves is a game that drops players right off the plank and into the deep end of the ocean as soon as they start it up. You're left to figure out how to do almost everything alone or with a crew of friends. All of it is picked up through experience as you play, which is part of what makes Sea of Thieves interesting. There are tons of little nuances and best practices, however, that you need to become an effective pirate.

If you want to win sea battles, escape plunderers, gather treasure, and generally be the best pirate on the Sea of Thieves, there is a lot to learn. Luckily, these tips will make you an effective sailor, a deft brawler, and a smart privateer when you join up with a crew. Going it alone has its perks as well, so check out our tips for your lone pirate voyages.
Start with the tutorial mission