Earlier this year we reported that Playtonic Games, a studio founded by former Rare developers, was looking into launching a spiritual successor to Rare’s Nintendo 64 series Banjo-Kazooie. Teased under the working title Project Ukulele, it was clear that the title would be a 3D platformer, but little else was known.
On Friday, the project officially launched on Kickstarter with the name Yooka-Laylee, which we all really should have seen coming. 40 minutes later, the project had already reached its funding goal of $240,041. By the next day, it had raised more than $1.5 million.
Yooka-Laylee will be released on the PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Wii U. While all of these platforms were planned for release, the “timing and scope” were to be determined by funding. The extraordinary level of funding that the game has seen means that Yooka-Laylee is planned to hit all platforms simultaneously.
“Obviously we would like to offer our sincere thanks to everyone who has backed the project so far,” Playtonic wrote in a Kickstarter update. “Our intention from the beginning was to use Kickstarter as a means to improve Yooka-Laylee, and you’ve helped us shape it into one fine specimen.”
At the time of this writing, Yooka-Laylee has raised over $2 million and all of the campaign’s stretch goals have been successfully met. Later stretch goals include a developer commentary video, orchestral score, Nintendo 64 shader mode, and a “GK Rap” written by Grant Kirkhope, the man behind the original “DK Rap.”
Roughly US$15 will get you a downloadable copy of the game on Steam and $24 nabs a console download of the game, and there are a ton of extras available at higher tiers. These include a digital art book, a T-shirt, the game’s soundtrack, and signed boxed versions of the game.
If you’re interested in Yooka-Laylee and want to get in on the ground floor, there is still plenty of time: The Kickstarter campaign comes to an end on June 16.
