Donkey Kong Bananza Development Team Confirmed By Nintendo

After months of speculation, Nintendo confirmed the Donkey Kong Bananza development team is the same one that made Super Mario Odyssey. The upcoming 3D platformer is the long-awaited next mainline entry in the Donkey Kong series, in which players take control of Donkey Kong and Pauline as they dig under the earth to track down Banandium Gems and the power to make a wish. Donkey Kong Bananza was originally revealed during the Switch 2 Direct stream on April 2, 2025, and Nintendo delved further into the game’s mechanics and story in another stream on June 18, 2025.

Since its original reveal, Nintendo has kept the development studio behind Donkey Kong Bananza a secret, which led fans to run wild with theories. Thanks to certain stylistic choices and DK Bananza gameplay elements revealed in footage from these two streams, many believed that the team that made Super Mario Odyssey would eventually be revealed to be the developers behind Donkey Kong Bananza.

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Nintendo finally confirmed these rumors at a recent Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on preview event. According to Shacknews, the same teams at Nintendo that made Super Mario Odyssey, Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development and 1-Up Studio, are heading the development of Donkey Kong Bananza. However, Nintendo has yet to reveal which specific members of are working on Donkey Kong Bananza.

The Super Mario Odyssey Team Is Developing Donkey Kong Bananza

The critically acclaimed Super Mario Odyssey was released a few months after the original Nintendo Switch console launch in 2017. Eight years later, it is still the most recent mainline Super Mario game, and many have wondered what Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development has been working on since. As it turns out, the original developers have been at the helm of Donkey Kong Bananza, a fitting game for a team that created one of the best 3D platformers in recent years.

Several signs in official footage pointed to the Super Mario Odyssey team being the Donkey Kong Bananza development studio. For example, shops revealed in gameplay footage from the two Nintendo Direct streams had a very similar artistic design and UI as those found throughout Super Mario Odyssey. Many also noticed that the screen that pops up when Donkey Kong picks up a Banandium Gem is similar to when Mario collects a Power Moon in Super Mario Odyssey. And, lastly, Pauline is the Mayor of New Donk City in Super Mario Odyssey and returns as a young girl in Donkey Kong Bananza, which could indicate a connection between the two games beyond just the dev team.

Though this news bodes well for the quality of Nintendo’s first major post-launch Switch 2 title, it does mean fans will have to wait longer for the next flagship 3D Super Mario game. If most of the original Super Mario Odyssey developers are back, it’s all but sure to be another instant classic 3D platformer from one of Nintendo’s best-regarded internal teams.