As Nintendo finally looks set to acknowledge a certain secret character’s presence in Donkey Kong: Bananza, fans are taking the moment as further evidence of upcoming, unannounced Mario Kart World DLC.
As everyone who has completed Donkey Kong: Bananza will know, the game’s final boss is King K. Rool (and if you haven’t played the game yet, you should, it’s great). While he’s hinted at numerous times during the game, King K. Rool’s reveal is kept as a late surprise — and Nintendo has hidden the crowned reptile from all of its marketing around the game. That is, until now.
Dataminers who have peered into the files of the Nintendo Today smartphone app have spotted that Rool will finally be acknowledged on December 15, when the scaled royal figure is set to star in the software’s daily intro animation (as recorded and already visible via the Mario Wiki). And now, fans are putting Rool’s reveal together with a certain other event happening in the very near future, along with some previous hints, to suggest we’ll be seeing much more of the character very shortly.
Because, of course, next week is The Game Awards on December 11, and Nintendo has used the show to reveal some more minor announcements in the past — though, it has to be said, not for the past few years.
But there’s an expectation that Nintendo does have DLC for Mario Kart World waiting in the wings, as that game’s credits mysteriously include the voice actors for both King K. Rool and Void Kong, Bananza’s main villain. Neither character can be found in the game at present, something that’s led fans to believe the pair are arriving as part of the racer’s first wave of post-launch characters.
Wrapping up 2025 with a DLC drop for Switch 2’s launch title that celebrates this year’s second-biggest Nintendo release just makes sense, and may help shift a few more Switch 2 consoles ahead of the holidays (not that Nintendo really needs the help).
Will King K. Rool be meeting Geoff Keighley next week? As ever, IGN will be reporting on all of the announcements from The Game Awards live.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
