Bancho The Chef: Everything We Know

If you played Dave the Diver, you already know Bancho. He’s the stoic, hair-free sushi master who runs the kitchen at Bancho Sushi while Dave hauls fish out of the Blue Hole. He barely talks, he perfects every dish, and he somehow became the fan-favorite character in one of the biggest surprise hits of 2023. Well, Mintrocket listened. Bancho is finally the star of his own game, and it looks absolutely incredible.

Bancho the Chef is a standalone prequel to Dave the Diver, set 19 years before the events of the original game. You play as a younger version of Bancho, complete with a full head of hair, as he travels across Asia to learn from master chefs and build his culinary reputation from scratch. You can think of this game as cooking simulation meets adventure game meets light RPG, all wrapped in gorgeous 3D visuals.

Let’s break down absolutely everything we know so far.

Who Is Bancho?

If you’ve only seen Bancho in the trailers for this new game, you might think he’s just a cool-looking chef character they cooked up for a spinoff. But Bancho has deep roots in the Dave the Diver universe, and his backstory is honestly one of the richest in the entire game.

In Dave the Diver, Bancho is the head chef of Bancho Sushi, a restaurant built by his business partner Cobra. He works alongside Dave (who catches the fish), and Cobra (who manages the business side). Bancho is obsessively dedicated to his craft. He practices constantly, experiments with bold flavor combinations, and takes enormous pride in every dish he serves.

Well, before Bancho Sushi existed, Bancho spent years working at top-tier sushi establishments across Japan. But he had this restless streak. Once he felt like he’d learned everything a place could teach him, he packed up and moved on to the next kitchen. He eventually landed at the 5-star Dugong Hotel, where he was managed by Yoshie (yes, the same Yoshie from Dave the Diver). Twelve years after that, he partnered with Cobra to open Bancho Sushi.

The prequel game appears to cover the period before all of that. We’re talking about Bancho’s earliest formative years, when he was still raw, still hungry to learn, and still figuring out what kind of chef he wanted to become.

And there’s a very practical reason Mintrocket chose him for a solo game. Bancho ranked 1st place in a massive fan vote, and according to studio head Jaeho Hwang, he’s one of the most-cosplayed characters they see at gaming events. The community literally asked for this.

Story

Bancho the Chef takes place in 2004. For context, Dave the Diver is set in 2023, so this game drops you into a world 19 years before Dave ever strapped on a wetsuit or stepped foot near the Blue Hole.

You follow a young Bancho as he travels through Japan, Korea, China, and other parts of Asia. In each region, he studies under a local master chef, works in their restaurant, learns their signature cuisine, and slowly builds his skills. The structure is essentially a culinary road trip across the continent, and every stop on the journey teaches Bancho something new about food, technique, and himself.

The progression works like this: you arrive in a new city, apprentice under the local chef, learn their dishes, serve customers, build your reputation, and eventually face a local challenge. Once you’ve proven yourself, you move on to the next region and start the whole cycle again with fresh recipes, ingredients, and cooking styles.

But what’s interesting is how this ties into Dave the Diver‘s existing lore. In the original game, Bancho is already this legendary, almost mythical chef. He walks into a room and commands respect through sheer skill alone. Bancho the Chef is designed to show exactly how he earned that reputation. Every dish you master, every restaurant you help elevate, every technique you unlock feeds directly into the origin story of the character fans fell in love with.

One more detail worth highlighting: in Dave the Diver, Bancho is bald. In this prequel, set 19 years earlier, he still has hair. Expect to witness the slow transformation from scrappy young cook with a full head of hair to the polished, clean-shaven master we meet in the original.

Gameplay

Okay so here’s where Bancho the Chef looks like it’s going to really separate itself from Dave the Diver. In the original game, you only served dishes at the sushi bar. The restaurant phase was more about placement and management. This time around, based on everything Mintrocket has shown, you’re the one actually doing the cooking. You prep meals from scratch, manage the order of your dishes carefully, and serve customers directly, all within a time limit. Each restaurant in each region appears to have its own menu, its own style, and its own set of challenges. You’re essentially working as an apprentice chef, and the game looks like it lets you experience every single step of that process.

Beyond the kitchen, the gameplay branches out in classic Mintrocket fashion. Dave the Diver became famous for refusing to stay confined to a single genre, and Bancho the Chef looks like it follows the same philosophy. From what we’ve seen so far, you’ll gather ingredients through mini-games across each region. You’ll go fishing. You’ll pet cats (yes, that’s confirmed). You’ll take on cooking requests from unique locals in every area. So for fans who loved how Dave the Diver constantly surprised you with unexpected gameplay shifts, this prequel looks like it’s doubling down on that exact energy.

On PS5, Mintrocket has gone deep with DualSense integration. From what the studio has shared, you’ll feel the knife hit the cutting board through haptic feedback, crack eggs with the adaptive triggers and built-in speaker, and scrub dishes using the touchpad. The studio picked PS5 as the primary console specifically because DualSense offered the best way to let players physically feel the joy of cooking with their own hands. And if the team delivers on what they’ve promised, this could be one of the best DualSense showcases since Astro Bot.

The Pixel Art to 3D Shift

This is one of the biggest talking points around Bancho the Chef. Dave the Diver used a gorgeous pixel art style that became iconic. So why did Mintrocket switch to fully 3D visuals for the prequel?

Well, Jaeho Hwang explained that the team wanted to capture the textures and fine details of cooking in ways that pixel art simply couldn’t handle. When you’re building a game entirely around the art of food preparation, you need players to see and feel the craft. The glistening sheen on a fillet of fish, the splatter of oil during frying, the smoke rising from a grill: these are details that define the cooking experience, and the move to 3D lets Mintrocket render them with the kind of fidelity the gameplay demands.

Development

Bancho the Chef is developed and published by Mintrocket, the South Korea-based studio behind Dave the Diver. Mintrocket operates as a subsidiary of Nexon, the massive South Korean game conglomerate known for franchises like MapleStory and Dungeon & Fighter.

The game is led by Jaeho Hwang, who serves as both Head of Mintrocket and the director and game designer behind Dave the Diver. Having the same creative lead ensures consistency between both games in terms of design philosophy, tone, and the studio’s signature approach to genre-blending gameplay.

Development context matters here. Dave the Diver was a massive success for Mintrocket: the game sold over 3 million copies globally, won the Sit Back and Relax Award at the Steam Awards 2023, earned a Best Indie Game nomination at The Game Awards 2023, and took home a BAFTA Games Award in 2024. It was also nominated for Game of the Year and Best Debut at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2024.

Also, June 2026 marks Dave the Diver‘s third anniversary, and Mintrocket is running two major projects simultaneously. Alongside Bancho the Chef, the studio released the “In the Jungle” DLC expansion for Dave the Diver.

Trailer

Mintrocket dropped the official Announce Trailer during PlayStation’s State of Play on June 2, 2026, and it’s the only trailer we’ve gotten so far. The trailer runs about 1 minute and few seconds, and it packs a lot into that short window. You see a younger Bancho with a full head of hair, traveling through beautiful Asian cities, working in different kitchens, and learning from local chefs.

The cooking sequences steal the show here. Chopping fish, frying ingredients, plating elaborate dishes: everything looks ridiculously detailed in the new 3D art style. There’s also a quick fishing sequence thrown in, which confirms that classic Dave the Diver DNA is alive and well in this prequel. For now, we’re all waiting on that next big reveal.

Release Date and Platforms

Bancho the Chef does not have a confirmed release date or pre-order details yet, and Mintrocket has kept things pretty vague on this front. Steam lists it as “To be announced,” and PlayStation’s official reveal gave zero hints about a launch window either. The studio has only said they’ll share more information in the coming months, so right now the best move is to wishlist the game on Steam or the PlayStation Store and wait for updates.

As for price, there’s been zero official word on that either. Dave the Diver launched at $19.99, which could serve as a rough reference point, though Bancho the Chef’s jump to 3D visuals and PS5-first development might push the price slightly higher. Platforms are a bit more clear-cut. PC via Steam and PlayStation 5 are the two confirmed platforms so far, and the Steam listing also shows Mac support.

If you’re wondering about Xbox, Switch, or PS Plus inclusion, the answer is the same across the board: Mintrocket simply hasn’t announced anything for those platforms yet. The official press release did mention “PC and consoles” in a broader sense, and Mintrocket has said that further platform specifics will be announced in the future. So there’s still a chance we see it land on additional platforms down the road, but as of right now, PC and PS5 are the only confirmed options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bancho the Chef a sequel or a prequel to Dave the Diver?

Bancho the Chef is a standalone prequel set in 2004, exactly 19 years before the events of Dave the Diver. It follows Bancho’s origin story as he travels across Asia to learn from master chefs, long before he ever set foot near the Blue Hole or opened Bancho Sushi.

Can I play Bancho the Chef without playing Dave the Diver first?

Absolutely. Since Bancho the Chef takes place years before Dave the Diver, the story is built to welcome newcomers. You’ll get to know Bancho from scratch as he starts his culinary journey. With that said, fans of the original will catch deeper references and character connections that make the experience even richer.

Will Bancho the Chef be available on Xbox or Nintendo Switch?

As of now, Bancho the Chef has only been confirmed for PC via Steam and PlayStation 5. Mintrocket has mentioned that further platform specifics will be announced in the future, so Xbox and Switch versions remain a possibility but have yet to be officially revealed.

How is Bancho the Chef different from Dave the Diver?

The biggest shift is that you’re the one actually behind the stove this time. In Dave the Diver, the restaurant phase focused on management and placement. In Bancho the Chef, you prepare meals from scratch, handle the order of your dishes, and serve customers directly under a time limit. The game also swaps pixel art for fully 3D visuals to better showcase the details of food preparation.

Is Bancho the Chef a multiplayer game?

Based on everything confirmed so far, Bancho the Chef is a single-player experience only. The Steam page lists single-player as the sole supported mode, and Mintrocket has made zero mention of co-op or online features.

Why did Mintrocket switch from pixel art to 3D for Bancho the Chef?

Director Jaeho Hwang explained that the team wanted to capture the fine textures and details of food in ways that pixel art simply couldn’t handle. The visual fidelity of 3D allows them to render elements like the sheen on a fish fillet, oil splatter, and smoke from a grill with the kind of precision a cooking-focused game demands.

Does Bancho the Chef use DualSense features on PS5?

Yes, and Mintrocket has gone deeper with DualSense integration than you’d expect. On PS5, Bancho the Chef uses haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, the gyro sensor, the touchpad, and even the built-in speaker to recreate the physical sensations of real cooking techniques.

How much will Bancho the Chef cost?

Mintrocket hasn’t revealed an official price yet. Dave the Diver launched at $19.99, which gives a rough ballpark, though the jump to 3D visuals and PS5-first development could place Bancho the Chef at a slightly higher price point.

Is Bancho the Chef coming to Mac?

Yes. The Steam listing for Bancho the Chef confirms support for both Windows and Mac systems, so Mac players are covered at launch.

Will Bancho the Chef be on PS Plus at launch?

There has been zero announcement about Bancho the Chef being included in any PS Plus tier. Based on what we know, it will be a separate purchase when it launches on PlayStation 5.