Nintendo Confirms Donkey Kong Bananza Made by Super Mario Odyssey Team – What Does This Mean for a New Mario Game?

Nintendo has kept quiet about exactly who made Donkey Kong Bananza, one of the flagship games for the Nintendo Switch 2. Many fans have speculated that it was made by the same development team behind the massively impressive Super Mario Odyssey. Now, it appears that Nintendo has finally confirmed that information.

Donkey Kong Bananza’s Creative Team

According to IGN, Nintendo confirmed at a presentation that yes, Donkey Kong Bananza was developed by Nintendo EPD, the same team that made Super Mario Odyssey, along with other previous 3D Mario outings such as Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World. Fans have suspected this for a while, noting similarities in design between the two games, along with how both games bring Pauline back into the spotlight.

What Does This Mean for a New 3D Mario Game?

With this revelation comes suspicion that we might have to wait a while for a new mainline Mario game. If the team at Nintendo EPD were concentrating on Donkey Kong Bananza these last few years, they might not have been working on a new Mario game at all. Since the team is known for putting out consistently high-quality work, it may take a few years before a new Mario game is ready for release, even though most Nintendo consoles either have a new mainline Mario game at launch or release one within a year of launch.

Conclusion

Obviously, the Switch 2 isn’t without the iconic red plumber, since Mario Kart World was its flagship launch title. However, maybe Donkey Kong Bananza is the stand-in for a mainline Mario game, at least for right now. The game looks packed with content and full of attention to detail, and people will likely be playing it for many hours. I’ve personally thought about preordering it even though I haven’t yet been able to get a Switch 2 to play it on. That’s how good it looks. If the game lives up to the Direct, maybe we won’t need a new Mario game for a while.