After 14 months and over 800 hours of development, Moon Studios level designer William Butkevicius (known as Eupholace) released Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania on December 3, 2025, inside Media Molecule’s Dreams platform for PS4 and PS5. The fan-created platformer recreates and expands the iconic pirate-themed Treasure Trove Cove level from the original N64 game, featuring 30 Jiggys to collect instead of the original 10, instant transformations without backtracking, and new mechanics that modernize the classic Banjo-Kazooie formula. The project has earned praise from original Rare developers and even the official Rare Twitter account for its quality.
What Makes Mumbomania Special
Mumbomania reimagines Treasure Trove Cove, the second world from 1998’s Banjo-Kazooie, with significantly expanded content and quality-of-life improvements. The original level contained 10 Jiggys (the series’ main collectible), while Mumbomania triples that count to 30, requiring substantially more exploration and puzzle-solving. The expanded scope transforms a 20-minute level into a 1-2 hour experience that captures the feel of a full Banjo-Kazooie world.
The biggest mechanical improvement is instant transformations. In the original N64 games, you had to visit Mumbo Jumbo’s hut every time you wanted to transform into different creatures or objects. This constant backtracking broke exploration flow and made transformations feel like chores. Mumbomania solves this by having Mumbo follow Banjo and Kazooie constantly in a mysteriously disembodied form, letting you transform instantly wherever you are. The transformations include a fish, cannon, hulking rock golem, cutlass-wielding pirate, and more.
The Development Process
Butkevicius worked on Mumbomania for 14 months, logging over 800 hours in Dreams’ creation tools. He didn’t work entirely alone, collaborating with Piece_of_Craft and duckenomics, plus incorporating assets created by other Dreams community members. This collaborative aspect showcases one of Dreams’ best features: creators can share assets, music, character models, and systems for others to use, with all contributors credited in the final projects.
The trailer shows incredibly polished gameplay that looks professionally made rather than fan-created. Banjo jumps, glides, rolls, gets shot from cannons, and explores environments that authentically capture the N64 era aesthetic while looking clean and modern. The level design includes the classic Banjo elements: platforming challenges, collectible hunts, environmental puzzles, and secrets tucked into every corner. Music came from The Game Brass, a group specializing in brass covers of video game soundtracks.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Creator | William Butkevicius (Eupholace), Moon Studios level designer |
| Collaborators | Piece_of_Craft, duckenomics, Dreams community assets |
| Development Time | 14 months, 800+ hours |
| Platform | Dreams (PS4/PS5 exclusive) |
| Length | 1-2 hours |
| Collectibles | 30 Jiggys (vs 10 in original Treasure Trove Cove) |
| Key Feature | Instant transformations, no backtracking |
| Release Date | December 3, 2025 |
Industry and Fan Reception
The response to Mumbomania has been overwhelmingly positive. Original Rare developers praised the project, with the official Rare Twitter account calling it “Incredible work.” This approval matters because fan games typically exist in legal gray areas where companies could issue cease and desist letters. Rare’s public endorsement suggests they’re comfortable with the project, though technically it exists within Dreams’ platform rather than as standalone software, providing some legal protection.
Gaming media outlets covered Mumbomania extensively, with IGN, Kotaku, GamesRadar, Windows Central, and others publishing articles about the fan creation. Many noted that if shown the trailer without context, they would assume it was created in Unity or Unreal Engine by a professional team rather than in Dreams by primarily one person. The polish level demonstrates both Butkevicius’s talent and Dreams’ capabilities when pushed by skilled creators.
The Banjo-Kazooie Drought
Mumbomania arrives during the longest drought in Banjo-Kazooie franchise history. The last new entry was Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts in November 2008, nearly 17 years ago. That game controversially shifted from traditional platforming to vehicle construction, dividing the fanbase. While some appreciated the creative building mechanics, many longtime fans wanted a traditional Banjo-Threeie following the formula of the N64 classics.
Rare actually began developing Banjo-Threeie after Microsoft acquired them in 2002, with executable files dated June 2004 discovered years later. The cancelled project apparently featured a breaking-the-fourth-wall remake concept with multiplayer co-op, but it never materialized. Nuts & Bolts replaced it, and after that game’s commercial disappointment (selling only 140,000 copies in the US by end of 2008), Microsoft restructured Rare to focus on Kinect and Avatar projects. The franchise has remained dormant since, despite fan requests for a true third installment.
The Dreams Platform Challenge
The biggest catch with Mumbomania is accessibility. The only way to play it is owning Dreams on PS4 or PS5. Dreams launched in February 2020 after seven years of development, offering robust creation tools for games, music, art, and animation. While critically praised for ambition and capabilities, it never achieved mainstream success. Media Molecule ended live support in September 2023 to focus on a new project, though the servers remain active and all content stays accessible.
The platform’s limitations frustrated both creators and players. Creators couldn’t export their work to other engines or platforms, trapping creations inside PlayStation’s ecosystem. This made Dreams less attractive than learning Unity or Unreal Engine, where skills transfer to professional game development. Players found that browsing Dreams content often felt like scrolling through low-quality Steam shovelware rather than discovering gems like Mumbomania. The lack of PC port further restricted the audience.
FAQs
How do I play Mumbomania?
You need to own Dreams on PS4 or PS5. Once you have Dreams (which still sells digitally on PlayStation Store), search for Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania in the Dreams content library. It’s free to play within Dreams, no additional purchase required beyond owning the Dreams platform itself.
Is it legal for fans to make this?
Fan games exist in legal gray areas. Rare and Microsoft technically own the Banjo-Kazooie intellectual property and could issue cease and desist letters. However, Mumbomania exists within Dreams rather than as standalone software, and Rare publicly praised it, suggesting they’re comfortable with the project. No legal action has been announced.
Will Microsoft or Rare make an official new Banjo game?
There have been no announcements. Despite fan demand, Banjo-Kazooie has remained dormant since Nuts & Bolts in 2008. Xbox leadership occasionally acknowledges the franchise exists, but no concrete plans for revival have materialized. Mumbomania demonstrates fan hunger for traditional Banjo gameplay.
Can I play this without PlayStation?
No. Dreams is exclusive to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, with no PC or Xbox versions. Media Molecule originally planned export functionality but Sony reportedly cancelled that feature to keep content exclusive to PlayStation. If you don’t own Dreams, you can watch full playthroughs on YouTube to see the content.
How long did this take to make?
14 months and over 800 hours according to creator William Butkevicius. He worked on it while employed as a level designer at Moon Studios (Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps), meaning this was a passion project developed during free time rather than his day job.
Will there be more levels?
Not confirmed. Butkevicius hasn’t announced plans for additional Banjo-Kazooie levels in Dreams. Given the 800+ hour investment for one level, creating a full game’s worth of content would require years of work unless more collaborators joined or it became a full-time project.
What’s Trip’s Voyage?
Trip’s Voyage is Butkevicius’s previous major Dreams creation, another 3D platformer that gained attention in the Dreams community for its quality. It demonstrated his skill with the platform before Mumbomania took things even further with the Banjo-Kazooie license.
Does this work on PS5 Pro?
Yes, Mumbomania works on PS5 Pro, PS5, PS4 Pro, and base PS4 through backwards compatibility. Dreams doesn’t have specific PS5 Pro enhancements, but the more powerful hardware should provide more stable performance.
What This Says About Banjo’s Future
Mumbomania’s reception demonstrates substantial appetite for traditional Banjo-Kazooie gameplay among fans who’ve waited 17 years for a proper sequel. The fact that one person working part-time for 14 months can create something that generates widespread media coverage and industry praise shows both the talent in the fan community and how achievable a real Banjo-Threeie would be with proper resources.
Unfortunately, Microsoft and Rare show no signs of reviving the franchise despite owning the IP. Xbox has prioritized other Rare properties like Sea of Thieves, which generates ongoing revenue as a live service game. A single-player platformer like Banjo doesn’t fit current market trends toward multiplayer, microtransactions, and games-as-service models. Mumbomania might be the closest thing to Banjo-Threeie fans get unless Microsoft’s priorities shift dramatically. For now, anyone with access to Dreams on PlayStation can experience what a modern Banjo game could feel like, even if it’s trapped inside a platform Sony is no longer actively supporting. The irony of the best new Banjo content being PlayStation-exclusive when Xbox owns the IP isn’t lost on anyone.