Nintendo confirms Donkey Kong Bananza’s developer is ‘the same team as Super Mario Odyssey’
But Nintendo won’t confirm DK’s director or any key personnel
Donkey Kong Banaza’s developer is “the same team that developed Super Mario Odyssey”, Nintendo has told VGC.
Although it did not mention them by name, this seemingly confirms Nintendo EPD Tokyo as the developer of Bananza.
The news was confirmed during a media preview event for the Switch 2 game, in which Nintendo also said the studio behind the game is “based in Tokyo”.
Asked for clarification, Nintendo would not confirm whether the same staff behind Odyssey were working on DK, or if it was a new group within the same company. Neither would it confirm the director of the game.
VGC has asked for clarification on what this means for future 3D Mario games, and will update this story when we receive a response.
The last all-new 3D Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey, was released nearly eight years ago. If Bananza is indeed developed by the Odyssey team, fans might have to wait even longer for the mascot’s next adventure.
The main creative leads of modern 3D Mario games, director Kenta Motokura, and producers Yoshiaki Koizumi and Koichi Hayahsida, haven’t appeared in the credits for an all-new EPD title since Odyssey in 2017 (although Hayashida contributed design to 2023’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder).
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, an expanded Wii U port released in 2021 and developed in collaboration with 1-Up Studio and NST, features generic staff credits listed in alphabetical order with no job titles.
Donkey Kong Bananza will be released on Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17. Recently, Nintendo showcased new details and info on the Nintendo Switch 2 game, including the reveal of long-time series character Pauline, who will join DK on his adventure.
VGC published a hands-on preview with Donkey Kong Bananza on Tuesday. We wrote: “Like Mario’s recent 3D outings, Donkey Kong Bananza will likely be greater than the sum of its parts – a cavalcade of ideas and mechanics that might not seem like much on their own, but together form a consistently entertaining adventure.”
