PlayStation Finally Gets Banjo-Kazooie Thanks to Dreams and Over 800 Hours of Fan Dedication

AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer · Fri Dec 05 2025

A dedicated fan and professional level designer spent 800 hours building a playable Banjo-Kazooie level inside Media Molecule's Dreams on PlayStation, earning high praise from original developer Rare.

Platformer fans just got a surprise crossover moment as Banjo-Kazooie officially arrived on PlayStation, courtesy of Media Molecule's creation engine Dreams. As reported by Ed Nightingale over at Eurogamer, developer and Moon Studios level designer William Butkevicius spent 14 months and more than 800 hours building a tribute level titled Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania. The project features 30 collectable jiggies, musical notes, puzzles, and fresh transformations like a rock golem and skeletal fish, all accompanied by original music from Duckenomics and The Game Brass.

The tribute has already captured the attention of the original creators at Rare. The studio publicly praised the project on social media, while former Banjo-Kazooie director Gregg Mayles called it splendid and composer Grant Kirkhope shared his approval. Butkevicius noted that the project was a true labour of love designed to address some personal gripes with the original Nintendo 64 classic, such as streamlining the pacing of character transformations. While Butkevicius does not plan to expand the project further, it stands as a massive technical showcase of what Dreams can achieve.

For a franchise that has been largely dormant since 2008's Nuts and Bolts, community projects like this are often the closest players will get to new content. Key figures behind the original games have previously stated that the chances of an official revival remain slim, especially following Mayles' recent departure from Rare. Even so, seeing the iconic bear and bird running around a PlayStation ecosystem via Dreams is a heartwarming reminder of how deeply the franchise resonates with modern developers and players alike.

Tags: Banjo-Kazooie, Dreams, PlayStation, Rare, Community

Original article: Eurogamer