Summary
- Mario Kart World may have up to 84 characters on the selection screen, providing a vast array of choices for players.
- The game features 24-player races, leading to a need for a large selection of characters to avoid repetition.
- The potential 84 characters may include different outfits, but it is unclear if these will be separate choices or just reskins.
Mario Kart World might have a character selection screen with up to 84 different choices, more than double the number of characters available in its predecessor. Nintendo fans had been waiting for a brand-new console entry in the Mario Kart series for over 10 years. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, released for the Nintendo Switch in 2017, is a remastered and expanded version of the Wii U's original Mario Kart 8, which launched back in 2014.
With the Booster Course Pass, which included 48 courses and eight new characters, many fans considered Mario Kart 8 Deluxe the ultimate Mario Kart game. In total with the DLC, players can race on 96 different tracks and choose from a roster of 42 characters. Given these impressive numbers, it was hard to imagine Nintendo outdoing itself and creating an entry with enough content to shock its fans, but that is exactly what happened when it gave fans a first look at Mario Kart World during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct on April 2.
Every New Feature Confirmed For Mario Kart World So Far
Mario Kart World has just been officially revealed, and its announcement trailer was packed to the brim with exciting new features for the franchise.
The footage shown during the Direct made it clear that Nintendo is taking the Mario Kart series to a whole new level with the upcoming entry, as it seems players will be able to choose from up to 84 characters. In Mario Kart World, players will enter 24-player races. To avoid races featuring the same set of characters every time, Nintendo had to come up with a solution, and the most obvious one is to give fans an absurd number of characters to choose from. During the Nintendo Treehouse live event, players got to see new footage of the upcoming game, and it suggests that there could be seven pages filled with characters in Mario Kart World.
Mario Kart World May Feature Up to 84 Characters
During the livestream, fans got to see the Mario Kart World character selection menu. Each page will feature a maximum of 12 characters, and since, in Nintendo's demonstration, it was possible to see that there would be seven pages in total, gamers speculate that there will be close to 84 characters. However, the last page might not be totally filled, so to be more precise, it could be any number between 73 and 84.
Since it was not possible to look at all of the pages, players don't know if these could actually be different characters or just character reskins. Mario Kart World will feature various outfits for its characters, but since very little information has been given about this feature, it is still not clear if these will be set as entirely different characters, assigned in the menu before the race begins, or an exclusive consequence of new in-game food items, which are consumed during the race and change the character's outfit. Even though 84 might sound like players will have too many options to choose from, that's not the case, as there needs to be varied options for all 24 players.
Mario Kart World
- Released
- June 5, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Hit the open road with Mario and friends! Zip around courses in a vast world where everything is connected. Race along grassy plains, bustling cities, wide-open waters, big ol' volcanos, and more—plus everything in between.
A sprawling world of courses. Speed across plains, cities, water, volcanos, and much more. Everything is connected!
Go beyond the course. There's more to racing than just the course. Hop off the course and race the distance to the next one!
Free Roam - Drive wherever your heart takes you. Where to? That's up to you! Take off in any direction in this new mode. Explore areas that pique your interest, and maybe even snap some in-game pics at scenic spots.
Play Together - Have a blast with friends, whether near or far. Up to 4 players can race on the same system. Play using your choice of button controls or motion controls. Attach a Joy-Con 2 controller to the optional Joy-Con 2 wheel accessory to wheely feel like you're driving. You can also play using Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers connected wirelessly.
- ESRB
- Everyone // Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
- Prequel(s)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Franchise
- Mario Kart
- Number of Players
- 1-24
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- June 5, 2025
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Racing, Open-World
