Donkey Kong is turning 40 years old this year, and in celebration of his anniversary, there are rumors of a new Donkey Kong game in the works. According to industry insider LonelyGoomba, it's being developed by EPD Tokyo, the same team that brought us Super Mario Odyssey.
2015 was the last time we saw Donkey Kong in a leading role, with Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars. Even that was a spin-off rather than a major release - for his last main series game, you'd need to go back to Tropical Freeze in 2014. While Nintendo originally created Donkey Kong, recent titles have been developed by Retro Studios, but that studio is hard at work on Metroid Prime 4. That's why the reins will be passed back to Nintendo Donkey Kong's next outing - at least, according to LonelyGoomba.
LonelyGoomba recently took to Twitter to share the news of a potential Donkey Kong game, claiming "the Mario Odyssey team are working on a 3D Donkey Kong game". Fellow leaker Zippo also suggests a new Donkey Kong game is coming, but claims it's a 2D game instead. While exactly what form the game will take is contentious, it does look as though we'll be getting some Donkey Kong news sooner rather than later.
Nintendo's history of celebrating anniversaries is hit and miss. Pokemon got a huge event packed with reveals, while Mario had the limited time 3D All-Stars Collection and the battle-royale style game on Nintendo Switch. Zelda's anniversary has scarcely been acknowledged, however, so it's not a dead cert that Donkey Kong gets something special for turning 40.
Mario and Donkey Kong have always been closely related, with Mario - or Jumpman, as he was known back then - making his debut doing up against the big gorilla. Since then, Donkey Kong and company have joined Mario in various Kart, Tennis, and Party games too, while Super Mario Odyssey is full of Donkey Kong references - EPD Tokyo seems like a good fit, if it is them at the helm.
E3 is just a month away, and it would make sense for Nintendo to have something big planned for the expo. It's not the only company likely to have surprises in store - Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and Sega will make an appearance at the event as well.
Source: LonelyGoomba/Twitter, NintendoLife