Summary
Mario Kart Worldis about to race its way onto the Nintendo Switch 2, but fans might not know that it has been in development for the past eight years. One of the first games officially confirmed for the upcoming Switch 2 console was a newMario Kartgame, andMario Kart Worldlooks to chart new territory for the long-running mascot racing franchise. It will also be available at the same time as the Switch 2 itself on June 5.
Mario Kart Worldmight be the biggestMario Kartgame to date, thanks in no small part to its larger courses that all connect to each other in a massive open world. In addition to the standard races,Mario Kart Worldwill allow players to explore this sandbox at their own pace in thenew Free Roam mode. Other new features include a massive roster of playable characters, an elimination-style Knockout Tour mode, and colorful new power-ups to help racers secure their path to victory.
WithMario Kart Worldnow 2 weeks away from release, an interview with the game’s developers was recently hosted on theofficial Nintendo website. According to producer Kosuke Yabuki, his team began brainstorming ideas for the nextMario Kartgame during the development ofMario Kart 8 Deluxe, with prototyping starting up in March 2017. Interestingly enough, this was around the same time thatthe original Nintendo Switchhit stores, andMario Kart Worldwas initially being developed for that console.
Mario Kart World Was Once Being Developed For the Original Nintendo Switch
Yabuki stated that forMario Kart World, the team wanted to give players a large game map to race around in from the start, as he felt thatMario Kart 8 Deluxehad perfected the traditionalMario Kartformula. Art Director Masaaki Ishikawa added that the courses started to look sparse with the usual 12-player races of past entries, hence whyMario Kart Worldwill have 24-player racesinstead. As noted by Programming Director Kenta Sato, this proved difficult to render on the original Switch’s hardware, causing the project to stall while the development team debated on making compromises toMario Kart World’s visuals and frame rate.
Around 2020, Kosuke Yabuki suggestedmovingMario Kart Worldto the Nintendo Switch 2, as the team already had a general idea about the new console’s technical specifications. Yakuki says that once they actually got a hold of Switch 2 development kits, it opened “a ray of hope” that they would be able to realize their full vision forMario Kart World, a vision that gamers will get to experience for themselves once the game launches as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive on June 5.
