Mario Kart World Reveals Origin of the Game's Most-Memed…

Summary

Cow NPC becomes a playable character in Mario Kart World, originating as a small joke turned hit meme.
Mario Kart World features a diverse lineup of 50 racers, including 25 NPCs who will be playable for the first time.
Fans anticipate the release of Mario Kart World on June 5, with many excited for new items, multiple game modes, and an expanded racer lineup.

Making massive waves online following the first Nintendo Switch 2 Direct showcase of Mario Kart World, the Cow NPC will soon be a playable character in the latest racing franchise entry, and the character's Mario Kart origins within the Nintendo development team have finally been confirmed as a small joke that became a stellar idea. Mario Kart World is set to launch alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 console on June 5, and new insights from the developers have sparked further enthusiasm among fans of the game's impressive lineup of racers.

The next entry in the iconic Mario Kart game series, Mario Kart World will feature a slew of new characters, multiple game modes, a Photo Mode, and more. In spite of controversy around the pricing structure of the game, one unexpected entry in the playable roster has become a hit meme and driven fan anticipation for Mario Kart World.

mario-kart-world-new-tricks-charge-jump-rewind

Mario Kart World Features Charge Jump and Rewind Abilities

The Mario Kart World Direct includes a sneak peek at two new abilities, Charge Jump and Rewind, coming to the next entry in the racing series.

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By Charming Holiday

In Volume 18 of Nintendo's Ask the Developer series, the developers discuss how Mario Kart World earned its name and stand-out racers. The team explained that Mario Kart World was originally intended to be released for the Nintendo Switch, but fears of performance limitations postponed the launch to the Switch 2. They further explained that the title Mario Kart World was an early shoo-in due to the open world design of the game. Perhaps the most surprising reveal in the interview was the origins of Cow as a racer. According to the team, a cute sketch of the unassuming Cow driving a truck was so amusing to art director Masaaki Ishikawa that the developers decided to include Cow as a playable character and offer more NPC racers in Mario Kart World to take advantage of the franchise's "untapped resources."

Mario Kart World New NPC Racers

Cow
Cataquack
Chargin' Chuck
Cheep Cheep
Coin Coffer
Conkdor
Dolphin
Fish Bone
Goomba
Hammer Bro
King Boo
Monty Mole
Nabbit
Para-Biddybud
Peepa
Penguin
Pianta
Piranha Plant
Pokey
Rocky Wrench
Sidestepper
Snowman
Spike
Stingby
Swoop

Mario Kart World boasts an impressive lineup of 50 playable characters, with 25 being brand-new NPC racers. The revamped roster includes fan-favorite Cow, along with familiar enemies like Goomba, Monty Mole, Spike, Hammer Bro, and even Cheep Cheep. While Petey Piranha was included in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC lineup, it would seem he has been replaced with a generic Piranha Plant, and the standard Boo has also been replaced with the regal King Boo. Other unexpected NPCs hitting the track for the first time include Nabbit, Chargin' Chuck, Stingby, and the skeletal Fish Bone.

Fans applauded Nintendo for the expansion of its racer lineup in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, so it should come as no surprise that audiences are excited for even more characters in Mario Kart World. From the impressive variety of NPC drivers to the new items in Mario Kart World, player hype continues to rise in the lead-up to release day. Players can check out all the first-time content in Mario Kart World when the game launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5.

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