>>714920096Pretty much
People make a big deal over dormant IPs but Microsoft has always been open to external devs wanting to take a crack at Rare's IPs that the studio itself has no plans on tackling anytime soon.
Killer Instinct, Battletoads, and Perfect Dark (yes I'm counting that) are examples
What makes people think Banjo-Kazooie is the exception?
The fact that it doesn't have a new game?
Look, sometimes people (capable people) don't show up to make the pitch.
Square Enix told the internet that they're open to whoever wants to make a new Gex game to knock on their door and license him but nothing came out of it.