It looks like Nintendo has finally confirmed the presence of a certain secret character in Donkey Kong: Bananza, and fans are taking this moment as further evidence of the upcoming unannounced Mario Kart World DLC.
As anyone who has completed Donkey Kong: Bananza knows, the final boss of the game is King K. Rool (and if you haven’t played this game yet, you should, it’s great). Although this information was alluded to multiple times throughout the game, the reveal of King K. Rool remains a tardy surprise, with Nintendo keeping the crowned reptile hidden from all of the game’s marketing. That is, until now.
Data scientists who peered into Nintendo Today’s smartphone app files noted that Rool will finally be introduced on December 15, when the enlarged royal figure will be the star of a daily introductory animation to the software (as recorded and can already be seen on the Mario Wiki). And now fans are tying Rool’s reveal to some other event that’s expected to happen in the near future, along with some previous hints to suggest that we’ll be seeing a lot more of the character soon.
Because, of course, next week is The Game Awards on December 11, and Nintendo has used the show to reveal a few smaller announcements in the past – though admittedly not for the last few years.
However, it can be expected that Nintendo actually has DLC plans for Mario Kart World, as the game mysteriously features the voice actors of both King K. Rool and Void Kong, the main villain of Bananza. Neither character can currently be found in the game, which has led fans to believe that the pair will appear as part of the first wave of racing driver characters post-launch.
Ending 2025 with a DLC release for a Switch 2 launch title that celebrates Nintendo’s second-biggest launch of the year makes sense, and could facilitate sell a few more Switch 2 consoles before the holidays (not that Nintendo really needs the facilitate).
Will King K. Rool meet Geoff Keighley next week? As always, IGN will be covering all The Game Awards announcements live.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s news editor. You can contact Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
