New Donkey Kong game reportedly in the works at a Nintendo legend

By Eric Abent/May 12, 2021 1:43 pm EST

Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo's longest-running franchises, and it happens to be turning a whopping 40 years old in 2021. While we probably won't get the big anniversary celebrations we see for franchises like Mario and Pokemon, a new report today claims that Nintendo is planning to release a new Donkey Kong game in the near future. Not only that, but Nintendo apparently has one of its best developers on the project as well.

This rumor actually comes from a couple of different sources. Nintendo Life today reported that a new Donkey Kong game is in development at Nintendo EPD, the studio responsible for Super Mario Odyssey and a number of other major Switch titles. While there have been whispers that this is a 3D game, Nintendo Life's source states that it will be a 2D title.

Nintendo Life also points to a recent report for a leaker named Zippo who says that the new Donkey Kong game will indeed be a 2D title developed by EPD Tokyo. While word of a 2D game makes most of us immediately think of the Donkey Kong Country series, Zippo says that this game won't carry "Country" branding. We also hear that the game should launch by the end of the year and that we'll probably see it announced at E3 2021 next month.

So, while there are a couple difference sources for this one, they're all claiming one big thing in the end: Nintendo EPD is working on a new Donkey Kong game, and given EPD's history as Nintendo's premier developer, the implications of that are pretty exciting. We have no idea what to expect from such a game, but EPD has already delivered a number of excellent titles for the Switch so we'll keep our fingers crossed and hope that the studio knocks it out of the park with this Donkey Kong title.

This is a good time to remind you, however, that you should take all rumors you hear with a grain of salt, because plans change all the time in the video game industry. For now, it's probably best not to get your hopes up until we see what Nintendo has to announce at E3 2021.