Playtonic Games: 'We Aren't Working On A New Banjo-Kazooie Game' - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 December 2019 / 2,746 Views
There was speculation going around yesterday that developer Playtonic Games, the developer for the Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor Yooka-Laylee, has either been acquired by Microsoft and / or working on a new Banjo-Kazooie game.
The developer has now released an official response via Twitter saying they "aren't working on a new Banjo-Kazooie game" and they "remain an independent studio."
Playtonic did say they "would love to work with the bear and the bird again, that ball isn't in our court." It is up to Microsoft if they want Playtonic to develop a new Banjo-Kazooie game.
A statement from us! pic.twitter.com/nZHqI5GaYe
— Playtonic Games & Friends - Wishlist Replaylee! (@PlaytonicGames) November 6, 2019
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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This makes me wonder about how the contracts are written with regards to purchasing a game studio. Back when Rare was bought by Microsoft, could the employees have all quit their job to form a new studio and then make games for Nintendo? What if Nintendo can't buy Playtonic games because it was formed with people who worked for Rare (highly doubt this, as it was a long time ago at this point, but it would be ironic seeing a studio that's possibly more Rare than Rare working for Nintendo). I just confused myself.
I would assume that the more significant members of the development teams had contracts with Rare that were binding, and still enforceable when they were purchased by Microsoft. People probably couldn't unilaterally leave without a breach of contract.
I would assume that the more significant members of the development teams had contracts with Rare that were binding, and still enforceable when they were purchased by Microsoft. People probably couldn't unilaterally leave without a breach of contract.
You can't jail lock all employees when you buy a studio, you could of course offer money to each one individually so they don't leave the studio for X many years. What you get is the IPs and probably the owners and directors can't either leave or open a competitor for X many years.
That makes sense. I've heard of that before. There's a certain time period after voluntarily leaving the company that says that you can't work for a competitor. Now that I think about it, maybe most companies have developers sign such contracts.
No, you can't force employees to work for you, but in most companies it is pretty standard to have a contract for a set number of years, and if an employee leaves before then, you can sue for breach of contract.
It is sad that the rumor wasn't true (or perhaps they can't confirm until MS announces it in an E3 or whatever), but at least they showed they have interest and are open if MS wants to contract them to do it.
What a shame, oh well, maybe MS will see this as interests and get them back on board.
Curious to know what is in that Microsoft bag, maybe another Rare IP?
It would be a waste of money buying into a studio filled with senior staff probably close to retirement and one average IP under the companies umbrella. MS dont need to buy them, they just need to hire them while they are still around.
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