Donkey Kong Bananza developer was finally confirmed by Nintendo, raising issues with Switch 2's 3D Mario arrival

Nintendo finally confirmed the backward development team Donkey Banana – As many fans have suspected, the upcoming Switch 2 blockbuster was produced by a team that previously worked at Super Mario Odyssey.

In a speech attended by IGN New donkey kong bananza hands-on previewNintendo said the same employee who worked at Odyssey has also developed the new DK title.

The confirmation comes after Nintendo's previous announcement of which teams lag behind the game, even after Bananza's public play on the Switch 2's global launch tour.

Nevertheless, the news may not be surprising. Fans suspect that the talented Odyssey developers might be committed to an impressive look in the crowd-watch DK and point out the various connections between the two champions – especially their shared focus on character Pauline – as creators.

Odyssey was released in October 2017 and was hosted by Super Mario 3D World Director Kenta Motokura and produced by Super Mario Galaxy director Yoshiaki Koizumi and Super Mario Galaxy 2 director Koichi Hayashida.

Nintendo has not made it clear whether all Odyssey teams are back at Donkey Kong Bananza, and fans may be particularly interested in Koizumi’s involvement here.

A key figure involved in the creation and promotion of the original Nintendo Switch, Koizumi was surprisingly absent from the announcement of Switch 2. A Nintendo vegetablean with more than three decades of experience at the company, Koizumi began his career as an illustrator, before rising through the ranks to serve as director on the GameCube's flagship platform Super Mario Sunshine. Koizumi continued in every 3D Mario's key characters include being the director of Super Mario Galaxy, and then producers of Galaxy 2, 3d Land, 3d World and Odyssey.

Odyssey remains Nintendo's recent 3D Mario effort, but has yet to make suggestions on when the company plans to launch another Mario. Confirmation that Odyssey team members have been busy building Bananza will inevitably raise questions whether the Switch 2's new 3D Mario game is also developed in parallel or is further than some people expected. A closer look at Bananza's staff list and its characters may provide further clues once the game is launched.

As of now, it's interesting that Nintendo's blockbuster Mario team has made a donkey game for the release year of the Switch 2 – a location that is usually reserved for Mario Platform.

As for Bananza's link to Odyssey, Switch Platformer reintroduced Pauline for the first time in years to become Mario's main character and treat her as the music-loving mayor of the new Donk City, who performed the game's toe-hit jump superstar! track.

In Bananza, a Pauline's younger version acts as a companion to DKand with her growing singing ability as a force. Nintendo has taken rare steps before confirming the age of this young Paulinesome fans suggest that Bananza is now lined up as a prequel to the Odyssey – perhaps even the predecessor of the original Mario Arcade game, where Pauline must rescue Pauline from the DK’s clutch.

Donkey Kong Bananza launched Nintendo’s Key Switch 2 title this summer on July 17, 2025, on arrival at Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends ZA later this year.

Tom Phillips is the news editor for IGN. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on the Blues @tomphillipseg.bsky.social