Donkey Kong Bananzais now less than a week away, and one of the game’s producers recently revealed that it might have been in development for a longer period than evenGrand Theft Auto 6.Donkey Kong Bananzawas one of many first-party games announced for the Nintendo Switch 2 earlier this year, with pre-launch trailers showing the legendary gorilla joining forces with a young Pauline on a subterranean adventure to recover the Golden Bananas from the evil VoidCo and have their wishes granted at the planet’s core.
Fans have noticed many similarities betweenDonkey Kong Bananzaand 2017’sSuper Mario Odyssey, and this might be because Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development and 1-Up Studio have worked on both. Kazuya Takahashi is also serving as the game’s director, and hereportedly played every previousDonkey Konggamein preparation for the next interactive journey starring Nintendo’s iconic simian mascot.
Donkey Kong Bananzaproducer Kenta Motokura, who also directedSuper Mario Odyssey, recently revealed how long the upcoming Switch 2 game has been in development in an interview with Spanish news websiteLa Vanguardia(viaTheGamer). While he couldn’t give out an exact date, he says that work onDonkey Kong Bananzastarted back in 2017, shortly after his team finished its work onSuper Mario Odyssey.Donkey Kong Bananzaalso began as a game for the original Switch before being transferred to the Switch 2,just likeMario Kart Worldbefore it.
Donkey Kong Bananza Has Been In Development for Almost Eight Years
This means thatDonkey Kong Bananzahas been in the works for about eight years, perhaps an even longer time than the long-awaited and highly anticipatedGrand Theft Auto 6. An ex-Rockstar employee claimed thatdevelopment forGTA 6didn’t beginuntil afterRed Dead Redemption 2was finished in 2018, while publisher Take-Two Interactive revealed that work on the game began “in earnest” in 2020. Meanwhile, the first few years ofDonkey Kong Bananza’s development likely consisted of pre-production work, as director Kazuya Takahashi didn’t join Nintendo until 2020.
Donkey Kong Bananzais also going to come out long beforeGrand Theft Auto 6, as the former is launching on the Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17, whileGTA 6will be released on May 26 2026after a delay from its previously planned 2025 launch window. Copies ofDonkey Kong Bananzaare already out in the wild, so players should be careful if they want to steer clear of spoilers ahead of the game’s release later this week.
Donkey Kong Bananza
WHERE TO PLAY
The big guy is back! Donkey Kong swings onto the Nintendo Switch 2 system with a brand-new action adventure.Help Donkey Kong make his way through the depths of the Underground World. The deeper he goes, the more amazing places he finds! There’s no shortage of things DK can pulverize with his powerful punches. Break on through this truly destructive adventure.Behold the golden bananas! The mysterious group, known as VoidCo, has its eyes on this prized bunch. But no one messes with DK’s favourite food!Golden bananas? The whole island was buzzing about the discovery of this tasty treasure. But then, distaster struck! During the chaos, VoidCo stole every breathtaking bunch of bananas. Now Donkey Kong must venture deep underground to get them back!
