Nintendo Reveals New Courses, Characters, and Tricks in Mario Kart World

Nintendo’s Mario Kart World Direct highlighted open-world exploration, new racers, items and a way to open Rainbow Road during the showcase on April 17, 2025.

Mario Kart World was the first title of the Nintendo Switch 2 game lineup announced at the Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 livestream on April 4, 2025. The game is coming exclusively for the second generation of Switch consoles on June 5, 2025, priced at $79.99 (digital copy), $20 more than the standard price for games on the original Nintendo Switch. A physical copy of the game will feature a cost of $90.

In a 15-minute Mario Kart World Direct, Nintendo highlighted a new option of simple chilling in the upcoming kart racing game. Mario Kart World lets players roam the landscape freely both while in online and local playing modes. On top of that, gamers can now pop into the photo mode mid-drive without pausing the action.

The Direct offered a quick glimpse at eight courses, blending fan favorites with new additions. Classic locales like Toad’s Factory and Peach Beach will return in a new Mario Kart title, while new spots like Starview Peak and Boo Cinema will join the lineup for the first time.

On top of that, Mario Kart World Direct will require players to win every Grand Prix in order to unlock the series’ most legendary track, Rainbow Road.

Six new items were shown, among other things: Feather, Ice Flower, Coin Shell, Mega Mushroom, Hammer and Kamek, which lets players transform other racers into random objects mid-race.

Two new gameplay tricks also made their debut.

• Charge Jump, which works like a skateboard ollie, letting characters jump straight up to avoid obstacles or hit grind rails to access hidden paths,
• Rewind that allows players to roll back recent actions in order to try a stunt again. It doesn’t rewind the whole race, just character’s moves.

Nintendo also confirmed that the racing wheel for the Joy-Con controllers is back with the Joy-Con 2 Wheel.