Animal Crossing co-creator and longtime Mario Kart programmer are the leads behind the Nintendo Switch 2's newest exclusive, a Rocket League-esque basketball game

A header crop of the Drag X Drive key art, showing a heavily padded character in a wheelchair spinning a basketball on their finger with a neon-lit basket in the background — (Image credit: Nintendo)

Drag x Drive is the latest Nintendo title to drop as a Switch 2 exclusive, but its sporty setting and Rocket League vibes might leave you surprised about its developers – a team that boasts the likes of Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, and Splatoon legends.

The director behind Drag x Drive is none other than Yoshinori Konishi, a programmer who has worked on nearly every Mario Kart game since the 2008 entry on the Wii. Although he's got plenty of experience on Nintendo titles, the new 3v3 basketball game is his first foray into actually directing himself. He's not alone, though – Konishi is joined by other studio veterans like Drag x Drive producer Hisashi Nogami.

Drag x Drive credits have some interesting tidbits from r/NintendoSwitch

Nogami co-created Animal Crossing and went on to direct or produce every game in the cozy series, starting with the original 2001 title on the Nintendo 64 – and yes, this includes Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which proved to be the best-selling entry shortly after its release in 2020. Nogami also notably acted as co-creator on another beloved game: Splatoon. He isn't the only former Splatoon dev on Drag x Drive, either.

Takahisa Ikejiri is Drag x Drive's art director, but he previously worked as an artist for both Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3. He designed bosses like the Flyfish and the Stinger, going on to dabble in player and weapon design. It's safe to say the Drag x Drive devs have plenty of experience under their belts already, with credits from Animal Crossing to Mario Kart to Splatoon – and now, the 3v3 basketball game.

It's certainly a unique title when compared to those they've all worked on in the past, but it's not all that surprising to see – after all, many Nintendo devs' portfolios span various genres and franchises.

Searching for something else to play? Have a quick browse through these upcoming Switch 2 games, or look around our more general rundown on the most exciting new games underway.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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