Original Donkey Kong Country Returns devs omitted from HD remaster's creditsOriginal Donkey Kong Country Returns devs omitted from HD remaster's credits

Players of the newly released Donkey Kong Country Returns HD discovered original creators at Retro Studios aren't featured in the credits. Instead, the remaster's credits acknowledge how it's "based on the work of the original development staff."

We've seen greater scrutiny over crediting (and their omissions) within games lately. Credits for recent high-profile titles like Marvel's Spider-Man 2, The Callisto Protocol, and Skull & Bones failed to properly list translators or staff who left the studio before the game's release.

Nintendo has previously come under fire for this practice. The music app it launched last year features soundtracks from its first-party games and doesn't credit their respective composers. External translators also previously alleged they repeatedly weren't credited properly by what was described by sources as Nintendo policy.

Not the first Retro Studios crediting gaffe

Like the Donkey Kong remaster, the credits for 2023's Metroid Prime Remastered say it's "based on the work of Metroid Prime (original Nintendo GameCube and Wii versions) development staff." Zoid Kirsch, a former Retro engineer on the original Prime, said at the time he was "let down" by the lack of proper crediting. "I worked with so many amazing people on the game and everyone's name should be included in the remaster, not just a single card like this."

In a statement about Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Nintendo told Eurogamer it "believes in giving proper credit for anyone involved in making or contributing to a game's creation, and value the contributions that all staff make during the development process."

At time of writing, it has not explained why it omitted the original Retro team from the remaster's credits. Likewise, it has not said if it will update the credits, which previous developers like Obsidian have done.