Mintrocket Unveils Bancho the Chef: A Standalone Dave the Diver Prequel at State of Play

Protagonist and Story

Players control Bancho himself, who fans of the original game know as the cool-headed sushi chef of Blue Hole. The prequel explores his origin story—long before he opened his famous restaurant—showing his early struggles and training . According to Mintrocket, Bancho was so popular that he topped a fan character poll, which was a key reason for building a game centered on him .

Gameplay: A Cooking Simulator Meets RPG

Gameplay blends two core genres. The primary loop is a cooking simulation where you prepare meals to satisfy customers, build up restaurant reputations, and learn techniques from the culinary master of each region you visit . This is wrapped inside a broader role-playing framework that takes Bancho across multiple locations in Asia .

The Official PlayStation Blog notes that the game isn’t confined to a single type of activity. Beyond cooking, you can fish, wash dishes, interact with cats, and complete various cooking requests . The reveal trailer showed Bancho whipping up dishes in a Japanese eatery called Obata Shokudo and even dealing with a bug infestation .

Mintrocket also confirmed it is using the PS5 DualSense controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers to make cooking actions feel more tactile and immersive .

Tone and Art Style

The reveal trailer leaned into a lighthearted, silly, and charming energy, which GamesRadar described as "a whole lot of fun" and "suitably silly for a prequel" . InvenGlobal noted that the game moves beyond the pixel art of Dave the Diver to adopt a cartoon-style 2.5D aesthetic . This visual shift gives the prequel its own distinct look while keeping the warm, whimsical feel of the original.

Platforms and Release Status

Bancho the Chef has been officially confirmed for PlayStation 5 and PC . No other platforms have been announced. The trailer stated that the project is currently in development, and no release date or window was provided, with most sources listing it simply as TBD .

How It Fits Into the Dave the Diver Franchise

This is Mintrocket’s first new standalone narrative expanding the Dave the Diver universe, but it arrives as part of a larger push to grow the IP. The studio had previously hinted at wanting to make a different game using the same world, and Bancho’s spin-off delivers on that ambition .

In the Jungle DLC

The big Dave the Diver DLC In the Jungle is the game’s largest story expansion, packing roughly 10 hours of content. It takes Dave to a new freshwater jungle environment complete with a new village (Utara), a restaurant, and fresh gameplay systems. Initially revealed at The Game Awards 2024 with a late-2025 window, it was later moved to early 2026 . Recent updates from Gematsu suggest a launch date of June 18 .

Mobile Port

Mintrocket has been openly working on a mobile version of Dave the Diver, shown in a developer update video alongside the DLC content . While details are thin, the studio confirmed the mobile port is in the works and more news will be shared when it is ready.

Everything shown at the June 2 State of Play points to Mintrocket leaning hard into the Dave the Diver franchise. With a major DLC, a mobile edition, and now a full standalone prequel that shifts the gameplay from diving to cooking across Asia, the studio is building a broader universe around its surprise hit.