‘Donkey Kong Bananza’ Made by ‘Mario Odyssey’ Devs? But Mystery Still Surrounds the Team

Ever since Nintendo announced Donkey Kong Bananza for the Switch 2, fans have been eager to know who is making it. For a while, Nintendo stayed quiet about which studio or team was behind the game. Now, we finally have some answers.

Nintendo confirmed that the team behind Super Mario Odyssey is also working on Donkey Kong Bananza. But even with that info, some things still feel a bit unclear.

At a recent preview event for Donkey Kong Bananza, Nintendo told media outlets like VGC that the game is being developed by “the same team that developed Super Mario Odyssey.” The studio is based in Tokyo, which likely means Nintendo EPD Tokyo.

Still, Nintendo’s teams often change and shift, with developers moving between projects as the game evolves.

People want to know exactly who is leading Donkey Kong Bananza. The Mario Odyssey team included big names like Koichi Hayashida, who produced the game and worked on Mario 3D Land and Mario Galaxy 2.

Yoshiaki Koizumi, a veteran with credits going back to the first Super Smash Bros and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, was involved too. Kenta Motokura directed Mario Odyssey in his first big directing role and had also worked on those earlier Mario titles. When VGC asked Nintendo if these same people are leading Donkey Kong Bananza, Nintendo stayed silent.

This secrecy matters for two reasons. First, games are made by real people, not just big companies, and it’s good to recognize the creators behind the games. Nintendo has usually highlighted its talented teams before, so it’s strange they are keeping this quiet now, even though the credits will eventually show who worked on the game. Second, if the Mario Odyssey team is busy with Donkey Kong Bananza, who is working on the next 3D Mario game?

There are a few possibilities. Maybe Nintendo EPD Tokyo is working on both games at once. Or maybe another team inside Nintendo is taking care of Mario’s next big 3D adventure. The last option, which might disappoint some fans, is that Donkey Kong Bananza is the main 3D game launching with Switch 2, and the next big Mario won’t come for several years.

Right now, some hints and rumors support the idea that Nintendo EPD Tokyo split their team. YouTuber and game developer interviewer KiwiTalkz said recently, “DK Bananza is being developed by a new team that was spun off from the Odyssey team.” He added that many younger developers from the Odyssey team grew up loving Donkey Kong Country games and wanted to make a new one themselves. KiwiTalkz also mentioned that a new 3D Mario game is still “on the way.”

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