Donkey Kong Bananza is getting its own dedicated Nintendo Direct this Wednesday, with "roughly 15 minutes of information" about the next big Switch 2 game

Donkey Kong holds his face as his tongue hangs loose and his eyes display banana images in Donkey Kong Bananza - he is obsessed with the yellow fruit
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Nintendo has confirmed that we'll be getting a Donkey Kong Bananza Nintendo Direct later this week, on Wednesday, June 18 at 6am PT, 9am ET, and 2pm BST. This was confirmed by a post sent out to Nintendo Today app users (so me, and about five others).

Nintendo is very serious about the Nintendo Today app that we all clowned on when it was the big final reveal in a Nintendo Direct this year. Last week the company announced that brand new Switch 2 exclusive Splatoon game – titled Splatoon Raiders – via the app, and now Nintendo has confirmed the next Nintendo Direct is on the way this week. This time, it's focused on the Switch 2's first big game releasing after its launch; Donkey Kong Bananza.

The post reads: "Tune in on Wednesday, June 18 for a livestreamed Donkey Kong Bananza Direct," which is pretty vague as far as Nintendo Direct announcements go (at least compared to the previous Direct Tweets). The app gives no word of what aspects of the game it will go over, or how long the presentation will be, however, a Nintendo of America Twitter post confirmed it'll run for around 15 minutes – roughly the same length as the Mario Kart World Direct earlier this year.

There were previously rumours of a Nintendo Direct happening this week, with Nintendo typically holding an event in June. These were furthered over the weekend by Red Dead Redemption actor Rob Wiethoff saying some "exciting news" was coming this week, leading some to believe a Red Dead Redemption 2 port for Nintendo Switch 2 was on the way, which would make sense to be announced in a potential Direct. However, I'd be shocked if Red Dead makes an appearance in a Donkey Kong Direct, unless Bananza is going to go in some wild directions.

Mario Kart World could be due a Donkey Kong-themed expansion, fans theorize, with the bizarre lack of DK love in the Switch 2 racer leaving players suspicious.

Scott McCrae
Contributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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