Nintendohas finally confirmed thatDonkey Kong Bananzais being developed by the same team that worked onSuper Mario Odyssey, although it’s notquiteas simple as that.
Considering Nintendo’strack record with new console releases, pretty much everyoneassumed that the Switch 2 would be launching alongside a new 3D Mario game. That was proven not to be the case during the Switch 2’s unveiling, as the big platforming debut for the console wasinstead revealed to focus on Donkey Kong.
While the lack of a big 3D Mario game for the Switch 2’s launch was a big shock at first, it quickly became a lot more understandable as Donkey Kong Bananza was shown off.We’ve all theorised for some time now that Bananza is being put together by the Odyssey team, which would explain why Mario is Missing (no, not that one).
Nintendo Has Finally Confirmed Who’s Developing Donkey Kong Bananza
And Yes, It’s Exactly Who You Think It Is
Over the past few years, Nintendo has been incredibly cagey aboutconfirming which of its teams is making which games. It looked like that would be the case for Bananza until its launch next month but Nintendo has confirmed that Donkey Kong Bananza is indeed developed by the Odyssey team.
TheGamer recently attended a preview event for Donkey Kong Bananza, where we were told by a Nintendo representative that Bananza is developed by the Super Mario Odyssey team operating out of Tokyo. We didn’t learn who the director is just yet, but we do at least know who the main team making the game is.
That being said, we were also told that, although Bananza is being made by “the same development team” behind Odyssey, it’s not under the same company as before. That suggests it might not be Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning and Development studio (also known as Nintendo EPD), but that itisthe same developers.
A leak from all the way back in 2021 suggested that a new Donkey Kong was being made by a team spun off from EPD that’s built up of developers from other teams. Nintendo’s statement seems to be in line with this leak.
While that last part might raise more questions than it answers, we can all rest easy knowing that Bananza is, in part, being helmed by one of Nintendo’s best teams. Of course, we all thought that was the case anyway, but now it’s confirmed and totallyexplains why a new 3D Mario game hasn’t been announced just yet.
