We knew a Mario Kart game was coming to the Switch 2, and now Nintendo has finally shared some real details in its latest Nintendo Direct. It’s called Mario Kart World, and it will be a day-one Switch 2 exclusive when the console launches on June 5th. It comes with a collar-tugging $79.99 price tag, but Nintendo also announced a $499.99 launch-day Switch 2 bundle that includes a download code for the game and is only $50 more than a standalone Switch 2. The company plans to share more about it in a Nintendo Direct scheduled for April 17th at 6AM PT / 9AM ET.
Mario Kart World features an open-world mode, in-game atmospheric effects that depend on “the time of day and weather conditions,” and up to 24 drivers per race. The open-world mode is called “Free Roam,” and it’ll sound familiar to Forza Horizon 5 players, letting users drive on or off-road around the world, “take scenic drives with friends, and take photos together at different locations.” There’s also a “Knock-out Tour” mode that lets you do a cross-country Cannonball Run-style checkpoint race.
Nintendo showed off some new gameplay mechanics, like abilities to grind on rails and power lines or wall jump, as well as new vehicles like boats and snowmobiles. Other shots showed what looked like on-the-fly character customization. Characters that appeared in the trailer included standards like Mario and Wario, as well as new ones to the mainline series, like the cow from Moo Moo Meadows in Mario Kart 64.
Mario Kart was the one new game teased during the initial Switch 2 reveal event in January. And it makes a lot of sense as a debut title for the platform, as the kart racing series has arguably become Nintendo’s most popular franchise. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the bestselling Switch game to date, and its predecessor holds the same title for the Wii U. Meanwhile, Mario Kart 7 was the top-selling 3DS game, Mario Kart Wii was second only to Wii Sports on that platform, and Mario Kart DS sat just behind Nintendogs to claim third place on the handheld.
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