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Playtonic Games, developer of the Yooka-Laylee series, has refuted the recent rumours that say it is being bought by Microsoft (via Eurogamer).
A Resetera user claimed they had hoovered a trail of breadcrumbs left by Playtonic Games that seemed to imply the studio would be bought by Microsoft to begin work on a new Banjo-Kazooie game. Of course, Playtonic Games is made up of former Rare developers who delivered the zany zoological adventure game.
Well, I never really had any plans to use this again. pic.twitter.com/r3wS18vrrR
— Ed Bryan (@ItsMingyJongo) November 3, 2019
Ed Bryan, character artist for Banjo-Kazooie, recently joined the company and tweeted a photo of a bag with the Microsoft logo on it. Then, eagle-eyed enthusiasts noticed that Playtonic Games had registered a new company last month, under the name 'Playtonic Games Development Limited'. These observations and the possibility of a new Banjo-Kazooie had fans practically foaming at the mouth. However, the studio had to let them down easy.
A statement from us! pic.twitter.com/nZHqI5GaYe
— Playtonic (@PlaytonicGames) November 6, 2019
Credit where credit is due, that is terrific theorisation and the Resetera user should consider writing mystery novels or maybe becoming a private detective. Playtonic Games is still independent and will not be brought into the fold of Xbox Game Studios, the statement published to Twitter read. ‘We're sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear from us. At first, we found it amusing Ed Bryan's bag is being used as serious “evidence”, but we reckon it wouldn't be fair if we didn't set the record straight,’ it added.
Given that Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair released only last month, an acquisition and a new game in the pipeline would be a spectacularly speedy development. The Yooka-Laylee sequel reviewed rather well so if you ask me, Playtonic Games should keep on keeping on.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is out now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.
