Summary
There were always going to be a fewNintendomascots that were inevitably going to show up during today’sNintendo Switch 2Direct, andDonkey Kongwas one of them. More than a decade on from his last original outing, Nintendo has finally revealed its next original DK game coming later this year.
Donkey Kong Bananzawas just confirmed at the Direct. The reveal trailer gave us an extensive look at the gameplay, confirming that we’re getting another 3D platformer starring DK.
Donkey Kong Is Back, With A New Game Coming To Nintendo Switch 2
In the trailer, we see Donkey Kong smashing his way through 3D environments, using his strength to defeat enemies and explore the world. While most of it is in 3D, we did get a look at more traditional 2D platforming, too.
While Mario Kart World is listed for a hefty price tag of $79.99, it looks like Donkey Kong Bananza will be ten bucks cheaper at $69.99. There will still be a ten dollar increase if you want to pick the game up physically, however, so it seems that Nintendo is incentivising digital libraries quite heavily this time around.
Even thoughMarioandThe Legend Of Zeldatend to be the first two Nintendo IPs everyone wants to know about when there’s news to share, it was always very likely Donkey Kong would have a big role to play in today’s Direct. While there have been ports and remasters since, the last truly new Donkey Kong game was aWii Ulaunch game, meaning it was been 11 years since it was released. That game was Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
Nintendo has also been giving DK a big old push outside of its video games. Seth Rogen is the voice of the gorilla inThe Super Mario Bros. Moviein which DK played a leading role. It seems likely Donkey Kong will return in the sequel which will hit theaters in 2026. The Nintendo sections of Universal’s theme parks have also recently been expanded to include Donkey Kong areas.
