Image: Nintendo
Donkey Kong’s new outing for the Switch 2 has already won some awards, and it’s now in the running for even more.
The ’26th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards’ is taking place on 12th March 2026 (during the GDC Festival of Gaming) and this week it’s been revealed Donkey Kong Bananza is up for ‘Game of the Year’ and multiple other awards.
It will be going up against some tough competition including Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which is a finalist across eight categories. Below are the awards Donkey Kong Bananza has been nominated for, and it also an honorable mention in the ‘Best Audio’ category.
Best Design
BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends / Devolver Digital)
Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)
Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Innovation Award
BALL X PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends / Devolver Digital)
Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy / Devolver Digital)
Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)
Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Technology
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Game of the Year
Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive)
Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Once again, the winners of this “peer-based annual award show” will be announced at this year’s GDCA ceremony, taking place on 12th March 2026 at the GDC Festival of Gaming. There’s also a public vote, where attendees of the GDC Festival of Gaming can vote on their favourite game of the year from all of this year’s GDCA finalists. Voting for this will open on 26th January 2026.
If you haven’t already played Donkey Kong Bananza, be sure to check out our review here on Nintendo Life. There’s also some paid DLC now available for the title.
[source businesswire.com]
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Liam is a news writer and reviewer across Hookshot Media. He’s been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters.