Banjo-Kazooie to release on Nintendo Switch Online January 20, 2022
It was announced last month that Rare's 3D platforming hit Banjo-Kazooie will be coming to the Nintendo Switch Online program, and a release date was announced just today. The game will be available for those with the NSO Expansion Pack, that allows Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games to be played, on January 20, 2022. This release is significant as Banjo-Kazooie was released during Rare's tenure as a second-party partner with Nintendo before Microsoft's acquisition of Rare in 2002. As such, Banjo-Kazooie has never been released on any of Nintendo's virtual console programs, and has only recently made his long-awaited debut in the Nintendo crossover series Super Smash Bros. However, in recent years, partnerships between Microsoft and Nintendo have become more common, ending the long drought of Banjo's absence from Nintendo's platforms.