New ‘Donkey Kong’ game, ‘Bananza,’ announced at Nintendo Switch 2 event

A new-look, modern Donkey Kong is here. Nintendo announced a new game — Donkey Kong Bananza (get it…like bananas) — featuring the classic character.

The new game is the first 3D Donkey Kong release since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64. It’s been a long wait for fans of Donkey Kong and they finally got the news at Nintendo’s event on Wednesday that debuted the Switch 2. Nintendo dropped a high-energy trailer for Bananza during the event that showed Donkey Kong running, bashing, and chasing down bananas.

The game is scheduled to be released on July 17. It’s just one of a number of exciting games previewed at Wednesday’s event. Perhaps most exciting was Mario Kart World, a new version of the classic racing game. While Nintendo dropped lots of details on Mario Kart World — you can drive off course and the weather will change, for instance — we’re still waiting on further details about the actual gameplay for Donkey Kong Bananza. It’s safe to assume there will be some fun bashing involved, at least.