Banjo-Kazooie's Back, and Not on a Nintendo Handheld

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If you’ve been waiting for Banjo-Kazooie to show up on something you can carry around, Blaze has an answer for you. The new Evercade Nexus is the biggest handheld the company’s made, and every unit ships with the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack cartridge in the box. It lands in October 2026 at $199.99 in the US (£169.99 / €199.99), and pre-orders opened April 1 through Funstock and major Evercade retailers across the US, UK, and EU.

Price: From $199.99
Where to Buy: Amazon

This is also the first Evercade to ship with dual analogue sticks, Wi-Fi 6, and a 5.89-inch IPS screen, which puts it in a different category from the older EXP and EXP-R.

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What’s new on the Nexus

The Nexus is bigger, and you notice it immediately. Blaze has stretched the display to 5.89 inches at 840×512, and peak brightness clears 500 nits, so you’re not squinting at it on a sunny patio. That roughly doubles the screen real estate of the older Evercade handhelds, which is the kind of upgrade you feel the first time you sit down with one.

The control layout has also been rethought. You get dual analogue sticks alongside the D-pad and face buttons, plus rear bumper and trigger buttons. Blaze has added a textured grip on the back, which helps during the longer sessions a bigger screen tends to encourage.

Wireless headphone support is in, there’s a 3.5mm jack if you’d rather stay wired, and the front-facing stereo speakers are a real improvement over what older Evercade handhelds were running. The RGB light-up logo is customisable, and TATE Mode is back for playing vertical arcade games the way they were meant to be played.

Connectivity is where the Nexus pulls furthest away from its predecessors. Wi-Fi 6 on 5GHz and 2.4GHz makes firmware updates quick, and the new EverSync feature lets two Nexus units talk to each other over local wireless for multiplayer. No internet required, which is the kind of thing that matters on a train or a plane.

What the Nexus can and can’t run

Blaze calls the Nexus “the most powerful Evercade handheld” it’s made, but the company’s been clear about what that doesn’t mean. It told Time Extension that “sixth-generation games will likely come to Evercade in a future hardware release somewhere down the line,” so this isn’t the unit for PS2, GameCube, or Xbox titles. Think 32-bit and 64-bit era. Blaze also said there’s “nothing exclusive to Nexus at this stage,” which leaves room for analogue-only releases later.

What comes in the box

Every Nexus ships with the new Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack cartridge, which bundles Rare’s N64 classics Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie on one physical cart. No download, no code, no account. You own the games outright, which isn’t the default in 2026. Blaze says the Banjo ports include widescreen support, performance and graphical updates, and they also work on older non-analogue Evercade systems.

You also get a USB-C to USB-A charging cable and a quick start guide. The mains adaptor isn’t included, so if you don’t have a spare 5V 2A plug lying around, you’ll want to grab one.

The Nexus is fully backwards-compatible with the Evercade cartridge library. Blaze says that’s more than 80 carts and over 700 officially licensed games, covering Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain, Taito, NEOGEO, Activision, Turrican, and Rare.

EverSync wireless multiplayer

EverSync is the feature Evercade fans have been asking about for a while. It lets you wirelessly host a game from one Nexus to another so both players can jump into multiplayer on their own screens, and only one person needs to own the cartridge. No internet connection required, which is what makes it practical on the move.

One catch: EverSync is Nexus-only. It won’t work between a Nexus and an EXP-R, VS-R, or Super Pocket, so this is a two-Nexus situation.

The limited Nexus 64 edition

Blaze also launched a limited Evercade Nexus 64 Edition with coloured button accents and a colour scheme Blaze says is inspired by the 3D consoles of the 1990s. It ships with the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack, a hard-shell EVA carry case, a glass screen protector, an exclusive poster, and a numbered certificate of authenticity.

The 64 Edition was a Funstock exclusive capped at 2,000 units at £189.99 / $229.99 / €229.99, and Blaze has already marked it as sold out. If you’re hoping for a restock, Funstock’s mailing list is the route.

Price and release date

The standard Evercade Nexus is $199.99 / £169.99 / €199.99 with the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack included, and the console launches in October 2026. Blaze also confirmed to Time Extension that the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack will sell separately later this year for owners of other Evercade hardware, so you won’t need a Nexus to play them.

One thing to know upfront: there’s no HDMI output or TV streaming on the Nexus. If you want big-screen Evercade play, Blaze points to the Evercade VS-R and VS as the home console options.

Price:From $199.99
Where to Buy: Amazon

For long-time users on the original handheld or a Super Pocket, the Nexus is the real upgrade path. For newcomers, Blaze is pitching it as “the best Evercade handheld experience that is available” right now, and with Banjo in the box, that’s a convincing opening argument.

Full Evercade Nexus specs

Screen: 5.89″ 840×512 IPS with 500+ nit brightness
Processor: Quad Core 1.5GHz
Memory: 4GB eMMC RAM
Battery: 5,000mAh, 5+ hours
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6 (5GHz and 2.4GHz)
Audio: Front-facing dual stereo speakers, 3.5mm jack, wireless headphone support
Controls: Dual analogue sticks, D-pad, face buttons, rear bumper and trigger buttons, textured rear grip
Extras: RGB light-up logo, TATE Mode, EverSync local multiplayer
Charging: USB-C (5V 2A, cable included, mains adaptor not included)
Dimensions: 215 x 111 x 34 mm
Weight: 410g
Colour: Black