Nintendo Confirms Donkey Kong Bananza Developer, Raises Switch 2 3D Mario Release Questions

Nintendo has finally confirmed the development team behind Donkey Kong Bananza—and as many fans suspected, the upcoming Switch 2 blockbuster is being crafted by the same team behind Super Mario Odyssey.

In a presentation with IGN ahead of a new Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on preview, Nintendo revealed that the developers of Odyssey are also responsible for this new DK title.

This confirmation follows Nintendo’s earlier silence on which internal team was developing the game, even after Bananza was publicly playable during the Switch 2 global launch tour.

Odyssey, released for Switch in October 2017, was led by Super Mario 3D World director Kenta Motokura and produced by both Super Mario Galaxy director Yoshiaki Koizumi and Super Mario Galaxy 2 director Koichi Hayashida.

Nintendo did not specify whether all or only some of the Odyssey team returned for Donkey Kong Bananza—and fans will be especially curious about Koizumi’s role.

A pivotal figure in the creation and promotion of the original Nintendo Switch, Koizumi notably missed the Switch 2 announcement. A Nintendo veteran with over thirty years at the company, he began as an illustrator before rising to direct GameCube’s flagship platformer Super Mario Sunshine. Koizumi has remained a central force on every major 3D Mario title since, serving as director for Super Mario Galaxy and producer for Galaxy 2, 3D Land, 3D World, and Odyssey.

Yoshiaki Koizumi. Image credit: Nintendo.Odyssey remains Nintendo’s most recent 3D Mario game, with no word yet on when the next one might arrive. Learning that Odyssey’s team has been hard at work on Bananza naturally raises questions about whether a new 3D Mario title for Switch 2 is also in development—or if it’s further away than many anticipated. A closer look at Bananza’s credits and team roles upon release may offer further insight.

For now, it’s noteworthy that Nintendo’s blockbuster Mario team has built a Donkey Kong game for Switch 2’s launch year—a slot typically reserved for Mario platformers.

As for Bananza’s ties to Odyssey, the Switch platformer notably revived Pauline as a major Mario character for the first time in years, casting her as the music-loving mayor of New Donk City who performs the game’s catchy Jump Up Super Star! track.

In Bananza, a younger version of Pauline serves as DK’s sidekick, using her burgeoning singing skills as a power-up. Nintendo took the unusual step of confirming this younger Pauline’s age, and some fans now believe Bananza is being positioned as an Odyssey prequel—and possibly even a precursor to the original Mario arcade game, where Pauline was rescued from DK’s grasp.

Donkey Kong Bananza launches on July 17, 2025 as Nintendo’s flagship Switch 2 title this summer, ahead of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends Z-A later this year.