‘Donkey Kong Bananza’ Made by ‘Mario Odyssey’ Team? — New Details and Rumors Ahead of July 17 Reveal

People have been wondering who is making Donkey Kong Bananza ever since the game was announced for the Switch 2. Nintendo didn’t say much at first about which studio or team was behind it, but now we finally have some answers.

Nintendo confirmed that the same team that made Super Mario Odyssey is also working on Donkey Kong Bananza. Still, there are some strange things about the situation.

At a recent preview event for Donkey Kong Bananza, Nintendo told outlets like VGC that the game is being made by “the same team that developed Super Mario Odyssey.”

The studio is located in Tokyo, which most likely means Nintendo EPD Tokyo. But Nintendo’s teams can be flexible, with developers moving between projects and groups changing as work progresses.

People want to know who is leading Donkey Kong Bananza. Mario Odyssey was produced by Koichi Hayashida, who also worked on Mario 3D Land and Mario Galaxy 2, and Yoshiaki Koizumi, a veteran with credits going back to the first Super Smash Bros and the Donkey Kong Jungle Beat game. Kenta Motokura directed Mario Odyssey in his first big role and had also worked on 3D Land and Galaxy 2. Is this same group leading Donkey Kong Bananza? VGC asked Nintendo, but they didn’t say.

This secrecy matters for two reasons. First, games are made by people, not just big companies, and it’s important to remember that. Nintendo has usually promoted its talented creators, so it feels odd that now they’re keeping these details quiet, even if the names will eventually appear in the credits. Second, if the Mario Odyssey team is working on Donkey Kong Bananza, then who is making the next 3D Mario game?

There are three possible answers. Maybe Nintendo EPD Tokyo is splitting its work between Donkey Kong Bananza and the new Mario game. Or maybe a different team inside Nintendo is handling Mario’s next 3D adventure. The last possibility, which might upset fans, is that Donkey Kong Bananza is the main 3D game at Switch 2 launch and the next big 3D Mario won’t come for many years.

Right now, some clues and rumors support the first idea. YouTuber and game developer interviewer KiwiTalkz said last week that “DK Bananza is being developed by a new team that was spun off from the Odyssey team.” He explained that many younger developers on the Odyssey team loved Donkey Kong Country games and wanted to make one themselves. He also said a new 3D Mario is still “on the way.”

This idea of a younger spin-off team was also mentioned by VGC’s Andy Robinson. It could be a win-win: fresh talent brings Donkey Kong back in 3D, while the original Odyssey team keeps working on the next Mario. But until Donkey Kong Bananza is released or Nintendo finally reveals more, everything is just guesswork. Either way, we’ll find out more on July 17.

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