Mario Kart World

Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release Date(s)
Nintendo Switch 2	WW: June 5, 2025
Nintendo Switch 2	WW: June 5, 2025
Platform(s)
Genre(s)	Racing
Rating(s)
ESRB	03
PEGI	01
CERO	01

Mario Kart World is the ninth game in the Mario Kart series. It was first teased in a trailer for the Nintendo Switch 2, and is a release title for the system. It was also the first game announced for the system.

Gameplay

Bikes and ATVs return following their absence in Mario Kart Tour. However, kart customization as seen in Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8 does not return. Some karts in this game instead utilize unique wheel designs, with some lacking wheels entirely in favor of treads.

Races now consist of 24 racers, doubling from the previous 12. Players receive points in racing as before, with some positions receiving the same number of points.

Gliders and driving underwater, introduced in Mario Kart 7, along with anti-gravity, introduced in Mario Kart 8, do not return in Mario Kart World; instead, karts can now extend wings, which function the same as gliders, and drive along the top of water rather than beneath it, with both new mechanics creating a comparable vehicle system to Diddy Kong Racing.

Many new mechanics for karts are introduced in this game: karts now have the ability to drive on walls after a height boost and balance on railings and other thin platforms to quickly charge up Mini-Turbos. When holding down the button after a hop without turning, players can charge up a Charge Jump instead of initiating a drift. After such a jump, the player is granted a small speed boost similar to a Mini-Turbo. The jumps can be charged, yielding blue and then yellow sparks, with yellow sparks granting a longer-lasting boost after landing. A new Rewind feature has also been added, which allows the player to rewind back to where they were before if they mess up. However, this feature does not rewind the other racers and can only be used in Free Roam or in solo races.

The art style of the game's characters appears to have changed significantly to resemble 2D illustrations drawn by Shigehisa Nakaue, much like the in-game art style of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Additionally, characters who would automatically wear racing suits on bikes such as Princess Peach are shown wearing their standard clothing, and clothing worn by characters is substantially more detailed than in previous games.

Unlike previous installments, all of the courses in the game take place on a large, open world, connected via the newly introduced intermissions, which are long, non-looping tracks filled with various hazards that connect from one course to another during races.

Players are able to enter large vehicles scattered around the world, such as cargo trucks, boats, or UFOs, and control them from the inside.

Grand Prix

Grand Prix returns as the main game mode from previous games, where the player races through four tracks of a cup in an attempt to get the most points, with higher placements yielding more points. However, the format of the Grand Prix has been changed significantly from previous games. Now, only the first race of a cup follows the traditional three-lap format. The last three races follow a sectioned format instead, with the first two sections (or more in certain cases) of the race taking place across intermissions that transition from the previous course to the next, while the final section consists of one lap of that next course.

Knockout Tour

Knockout Tour is an all-out battle mode where players race over consecutive tracks across the open world and are eliminated on a specific lap if not met after the required amount of racers. Unlike races, there are no breaks in between, as players who qualify for the next race will simply continue it.

Knockout Tour consists of rallies rather than cups, with each of the eight rallies having 6 races within. Unlike the Grand Prix, Knockout Tour focuses primarily on the intermissions between the courses, The first five races take place on a continuous path of them, with each checkpoint eliminating the players that place in the bottom four of the group. For the final race, the last four players standing will race a lap around the final course. This mode allows players to configure intermissions in the rules, though it is currently unknown how they can be configured.

VS Race

VS Race allows up to four players to play together locally and eight players to play wireless. Players can choose to race in regular three-lap races on a single course or choose a course to start at, then choose another course that is connected to the starting course to drive towards. Team races return from previous entries, but it is now possible to have up to four teams instead of only two. Class, item, CPU difficulty, and race count settings also returning from Mario Kart Wii.

Free Roam

Free Roam is an open-world adventure mode where one or multiple players can freely explore any track both on- and off-road. As displayed in the HUD when viewing the world map in this mode, P Switches, ? Panels, and Peach Medallions appear as discoverable objects. P-Switches activate missions reminiscent of the Missions mode from Mario Kart DS. CPU drivers can also be encountered in Free Roam.

Battle

Battle modes return, but as in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7, there are only two battle modes to choose from: Balloon Battle and Coin Runners. Coin Runners functions similarly to how it does in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but Balloon Battle has been reverted back to the elimination-based system used in earlier games, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart Tour.

Roster

Returning characters

Mario.

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Peach
• Bowser
• Yoshi
• Toad
• Princess Daisy
• Rosalina
• Donkey Kong
• Wario
• Pauline
• Waluigi
• Toadette
• Baby Mario
• Baby Luigi
• Baby Peach
• Baby Daisy
• Baby Rosalina
• Bowser Jr.
• Lakitu
• King Boo
• Shy Guy
• Birdo
• Dry Bones
• Wiggler
• Hammer Bro
• Chargin' Chuck
• Nabbit
• Monty Mole

New characters

• Goomba
• Piranha Plant
• Pianta
• Spike
• Dolphin
• Cow (Moo Moo)
• Pokey
• Para-Biddybud
• Penguin
• Sidestepper
• Snowman
• Cataquack
• Fish Bone
• Peepa
• Swoop
• Stingby
• Rocky Wrench
• Coin Coffer
• Cheep Cheep
• Conkdor

Vehicles

Karts

• A new version of the Standard Kart, used by Mario in the teaser.
• A vehicle that resembles the Tiny Titan from Mario Kart Wii or the Monster from Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally, used by Toad in the teaser.
• A snowmobile-themed vehicle resembling the Snow Skimmer from Mario Kart Tour, used by Rosalina in the teaser.
• A rally racer-themed vehicle with "SPINY SHELL" stamped across the windshield, used by Luigi in the teaser.
• A kart resembling the Flame Flyer and Mini Beast, with an engine that resembles a Fire Flower, used by Donkey Kong in the teaser.
• A kart with a large, bulbous orange head, used by Wario in the teaser.
• A kart that is silver and is similar in shape to the 300 SL Roadster, used by Baby Luigi in the teaser.
• A pink kart shaped similarly to the Standard Kart, used by Baby Peach in the teaser.
• A lime green kart with a large front, used by Baby Daisy in the teaser.

Bikes

• A new version of the Standard Bike, used by Peach in the teaser.
• A new push-scooter style vehicle, used by Yoshi in the teaser.
• A bike that resembles the Flame Rider, used by Waluigi in the teaser.

ATVs

• A new version of the Standard ATV, used by Bowser in the teaser.
• An ATV resembling a jet-ski, used by Daisy in the teaser.

Unknown

• A green kart or ATV shaped similarly to a boat, used by Bowser Jr. in the teaser.

Courses

Nitro

• A desert-themed circuit themed after the Southwestern United States, with a sign at the starting line that says "Mario Bros. Circuit" and landmarks such as a "Fire Flower Gas Station" and a drive-through burger place named "Yoshi's", which is shaped like a Yoshi head, with the nose also resembling a burger bun. Part of the course involves driving along a four lane highway; the highway features moving two-directional traffic with vehicles on the right side of the road, a behavior exhibited by no other track. Multiple kinds of additional routes are present, but they are blocked by arrow signs. There are also buttes in the background shaped like mushrooms.

Development

A successor to Mario Kart 8 was rumored since the release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch. In 2021, it was reported that a new Nintendo racing game had been in development for "at least two [to] three years". On January 16, 2025, Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch 2 with footage of a new Mario Kart game. Critics likened the art style to Super Mario Bros. Wonder and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, both released in 2023.

The game was covered during the Nintendo Treehouse: Live events on April 3 and 4, 2025. A dedicated Nintendo Direct for the game titled the "Mario Kart World Direct" broadcasted on April 17, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. PST / 9:00 a.m. EST / 2:00 p.m. BST.

Trivia

• List of milestones for World:
  • First open-world Mario Kart game
  • First to feature Kevin Afghani as Mario's voice actor.
  • First original major console entry in the Mario Kart series since Mario Kart 8.
  • First console entry since Double Dash‼ to have a subtitle rather than a number or console name.
  • First game in the series since Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, released in 2020, marking the largest gap in between releases to date.
  • First launch title in the series (for Nintendo Switch 2)
  • Highest amount of new playable characters in the series, much of which are enemies.
• World appears to have used similar mechanics from Sonic & All-Stars Racing: Transformed.
• The game maintain's Mario Kart 8's art style with many adjustments.
• Much of the characters in the game closely resemble the 2D artwork by Shigehisa Nakaue.
  • This is the first game to feature Donkey Kong's redesign, which would be later used in Donkey Kong Bananza.
• The physics have been resued from older games of the series, such as Mario Kart Wii.
• Many returning courses have been greatly remade.
• Missions from Mario Kart DS made a return in Free Roam mode.
• One of the music tracks is a remix of the Space Station Galaxy theme from Super Mario Galaxy 2.
• The "World" colors is based on Super Mario World, except the "D" is turqouise.