With the release of the Xbox Series X inching closer by the day, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has been very vocal about the future of the company and the studios under its employ. Recently, he made some more comments about the upcoming exclusivity of Bethesda Studios' various IPs as well as going into more depth about the Series X's capabilities as a piece of next-generation hardware.
In the same Kotaku interview where Spencer addressed both these topics, he was also asked about two huge former-Xbox franchises that have fans have been clamoring to return to for over a decade: Conker and Banjo-Kazooie. Speaking on whether either of the classic Rare franchises would make their long-awaited return this generation, Spencer was clear that the decision is ultimately not up to him.
"I leave it up to the studios in terms of the things that they want to go work on," Spencer claims, clearly believing that Rare's storied history means they're the best authority to judge whether either franchise should make a grand comeback. "I have a lot of respect for Rare and the work that they do. They do like building new things, and they’ve seen success with Sea of Thieves," he goes onto remind readers, telling them that "they’re really excited about Everwild." While many have pestered Rare to pick up where it left off on colorful cartoon platformers like the whimsical Banjo-Kazooie and the irreverent Conker's Bad Fur Day, Rare has spent the last few years exploring ambitious new ideas.
Sea of Thieves was a massively multiplayer pirate sandbox that let players sail the high seas in search of treasure with friends, while its upcoming new release, Everwild, looks to be a meditative fantasy game that strays away from the studio's heavily comedic style. When it comes to trying something wholly new or returning to the well with an established franchise, Spencer claims that "it’s just always a balance," citing that he's asked frequently to bring back iconic IPs. Seen as a number of gaming's most notorious franchises were born from a studio being given limitless creative freedom, Spencer's mindset is likely one that bodes well for the Xbox brand going forward.
Of course, Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day were both essential games that have been rumored to return to the Xbox several times of the years. Banjo's last appearance was in the Xbox 360's Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, which swapped out the series' tried and tested platforming focus for vehicle-based gameplay. Conker, on the other hand, hasn't starred in a full new release since the remake of Conker's Bad Fur Day hit Xbox back in 2001. He did have a few tie-ins with other Microsoft products though, including Project Spark and Holo-Lens.
Source: Kotaku