Mario Kart World is Nintendo’s big launch title for Nintendo Switch 2, and for good reason. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, despite being an enhanced version of a Wii U game, has sold nearly 70 million copies, making it one of the five best-selling video games of all time, and the franchise typically lands in the top five best-selling games on nearly every system it appears on. Naturally, Nintendo sees the first all-new Mario Kart game in more than a decade as a big-ticket item, which could explain the $80 price tag. However, it also explains the confidence Nintendo has to launch the successor to its most successful console of all time with Mario Kart World. During today’s Mario Kart World Nintendo Direct, we learned how players can engage with the big launch title of Nintendo Switch 2, as Nintendo detailed the various modes, as well as several of the courses.
Grand Prix
Grand Prix
As I experienced during my hands-on time with Mario Kart World (read my full preview here), the game features two flagship modes: Grand Prix and Knockout Tour. Grand Prix sets you up with a series of four races as you try and place well enough that you land on the podium at the end of the four races. Players can race through new and returning courses (see below), but the difference in Mario Kart World is that once you complete a race, you then drive to the next course alongside your opponents, hammering home the fact that this is one big, interconnected world. Grand Prix organizes the courses into four-race Cups, with seven Cups available – Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup, Shell Cup, Banana Cup, Leaf Cup, and Lightning Cup. However, the Direct heavily implies that if you take home gold in all seven Cups, you will at least unlock Rainbow Road, though it’s more likely you’ll unlock an entire Special Cup.
Knockout Tour
Knockout Tour
The other big mode Nintendo has shown is Knockout Tour. Here, you race in elimination matches across multiple checkpoints. Each time you pass through a checkpont, you must be better than the position shown in the checkpoint gate or you’re eliminated. With 24 players available in every race – not to mention the Mario Kart tendency to hit you hardest when you’re on top – Knockout Tour competitions are chaotic and stressful, but during my time playing the game, this mode served as the highlight.
Time Trials
Time Trials
During today’s Mario Kart World Nintendo Direct, we also learned about the other modes players can participate in. In Time Trials, you can hone your skills to post the best time possible across the various courses without worrying about other racers getting in your way or hitting you with items. If you go online, you can compete against Ghost data from across the globe. As with previous iterations of the mode, it appears as though players start with three Mushrooms, which must be used judiciously to score the best time.
VS Race
VS Race
If you’d prefer real competition, you can enter into VS Race, which allows you to compete against a full field of 24 racers, including real humans and COM drivers. You can select the courses you want to race with the traditional three-lap format or even compete by racing between specific courses. The ruleset is also fully customizable; you can select what class you want to race in (50cc, 100cc, 150cc, etc), split the 24 drivers into up to four teams, select or restrict specific items, designate the COM driver difficulty, and choose how many races are in the series.
Battle Mode
Battle Mode
The franchise mainstay Battle Mode also makes its return in Mario Kart World. The Battle Mode present in Mario Kart World seems more in line with the series’ traditional offering as seen in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, rather than the unpopular version found in the Wii U version of Mario Kart 8. Battle Mode can be played locally or online, with two modes announced: Balloon Battle and Coin Runners. Balloon Battle gives players a set number of balloons to represent their hit points. Each time you take damage, one of your balloons pops. You are eliminated from the match if all of your balloons are destroyed. Coin Runners first debuted in Mario Kart Wii, with the main objective of collecting as many coins as possible while preventing your opponents from collecting more than you.
Free Roam
Free Roam
If you just want to explore Mario Kart World’s vast region free from the fires of competition, you can do so in Free Roam. Here, you can run along the roads, go off-roading, or even speed down the rivers as you uncover every nook and cranny this open world has to offer. As you drive around, you can engage with various side objectives. One such objective presents itself in the form of P-Switches. Once you activate a P-Switch, a mission begins, requiring you to show off your skills. In the Direct, one objective involves jumping between multiple rails to collect blue coins, while another task involves reaching a goal while dodging incoming boulders within a set time limit. Nintendo claims there are hundreds of P-Switches across the world. You can also find collectibles such as hidden coins like the Peach Medallion shown in the Direct, hidden panels to activate, and more secrets. While in Free Roam, which can be done solo or with friends, you can access Photo Mode at any time.
Multiplayer
Local and Online Play
If you’d like to play with friends (or strangers), you can hop online to compete in the various modes on offer in the Mario Kart World package. Mario Kart World supports up to 4-player splitscreen, as well as local wireless for up to 8 players, with two players allowed on each individual Switch 2 system. Up to 24 players can compete online, with a maximum of 2 players on each system. While you’re waiting for players to join and ready up, you are placed in a joint Free Roam session so that you can explore with the other players. By opening the map, you can see where the other players in the session are and teleport to them immediately for cooperative exploration. If you have the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, you can use GameChat features and even superimpose each player’s face over their character so you can know who is playing as who at a moment’s notice and see their reactions in real time.
Course List
Mario Kart World is poised to be the most ambitious Mario Kart game yet. However, the $80 price tag has stirred up sufficient controversy. Nintendo has justified the price tag by saying it priced the game based on the value it brings to players, but many still decry the price as too much. Still, as the flagship launch title of the Nintendo Switch 2, it will likely sell well off the starting line, even with preorder details for the console still up in the air in the wake of the ongoing tariff saga in the United States.
Mario Kart World launches alongside Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5. For more on the new game in the beloved franchise, check out our hands-on preview of Mario Kart World here.