Nintendo fans move fast. The Switch 2 has only been in players' hands for a short time, and the community is already deep in the weeds debating which game deserves the platform's first Game of the Year crown. Given the console's launch lineup and the titles rolling in behind it, that's not a bad problem to have.
The early frontrunner in most conversations is Donkey Kong Bananza. Nintendo EPD's take on the Donkey Kong franchise has drawn serious attention, and its recognition at the 2026 Game Developers Choice Awards puts it firmly in the awards conversation. When developers vote for your game, that carries weight.
Why Donkey Kong Bananza keeps coming up
Donkey Kong Bananza isn't just riding nostalgia. The game represents a genuine creative swing from Nintendo EPD, the same studio behind Super Mario Odyssey, and early impressions suggest it delivers the kind of tight, joyful design that Nintendo's best work is known for. Its appearance in the Game Developers Choice Awards conversation signals that industry peers are paying attention, not just fans.
The key here is that Nintendo's GOTY race rarely comes down to a single obvious winner. The platform tends to produce multiple strong contenders across different genres, which makes the debate genuinely interesting rather than a foregone conclusion.
Other titles in the conversation
Beyond Donkey Kong Bananza, the Switch 2 launch window has given players a few other games worth tracking for year-end honors:
- Mario Kart World has been a consistent talking point for its expanded track roster and the sheer amount of content Nintendo packed into the launch window release.
- First-party ports of older titles with Switch 2 upgrades are a trickier category, since voters tend to favor new experiences over enhanced rereleases.
- Third-party exclusives and timed exclusives are still filtering in, and a surprise hit before the year closes could shake up the rankings significantly.
What most players miss is how much the Switch 2's hardware improvements change the experience of games that might otherwise feel familiar. The console's upgraded internals mean some titles simply play better here than anywhere else, which factors into how voters and fans weigh their picks.
How the year-end picture might shift
The calendar still has a lot of room left. Nintendo's release schedule typically accelerates through the back half of the year, and a major holiday window release could easily reframe the entire GOTY conversation by December. The Game Developers Choice Awards recognition for Donkey Kong Bananza is a meaningful early signal, but awards voters and fan polls have a way of diverging as more games land.
For now, Donkey Kong Bananza holds the early lead in the developer community's estimation. Whether the broader player base agrees when votes are tallied at year-end is a separate question entirely.
You'll want to keep an eye on Nintendo's official release calendar for what's still coming. The Nintendo news page is the fastest way to track announcements as they drop, and the second half of the year is where the platform's lineup historically gets most competitive. Make sure to check out more:
