I wonder if Nintendo keeps score. It’s defied expectations across the videogame industry more times than I can count.
When the market fires talent en masse, Nintendo gives its workers a pay rise. When pundits worry that a simple upgrade of the Switch won’t be enough to drive demand, it releases a sequel that sells faster than the original. And when analysts and commentators say that Mario Kart World is a weak launch title for that console, it goes on to be one of the fastest-selling Switch 2 games of all time.
At last count, Nintendo has shipped over 14 million units of the game. If the math holds, given it’s sold over 20 million Switch 2 devices, over two-thirds of those who own the new console have Mario Kart World on their device. Yet, if you were to ask me how this game is going, a year on from launch, I’d have to give pause.
I booted up Mario Kart World a month ago, pondering whether anything has changed since I put the game down around this time last year. Days after my first replay, the game released two new knockout races out of nowhere. But that’s it.
So what comes next?
These days, that’s actually a little unusual for the racing genre. Most modern ones (Forza, Gran Turismo) operate closer to a live-service game than a standalone title. That is, they get constant updates, expansions, and ongoing support. Some even operate on a bit of a roadmap to tell players what’s coming and when to expect it.
Obviously, Mario Kart World is no realistic racing game, setting its own rules. But its predecessor Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — one of the best-selling Nintendo games of all time — used ongoing updates and new track packs to keep gamers coming back and encourage players to repurchase the game on Switch even if they own it on Wii U.
Mario Kart World seems like a game that could repeat the same feat. It’s been an active discussion among my friends who own the game: How could they expand its open-world racing map? The hottest take: They could follow the same path laid out by Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and expand tracks into the sky and underground. That’s in addition to adding new karts, characters, and costumes.
An even lower-hanging fruit for the game? It could create a new series of Cup mode that homes in on tracks that loop as a circuit. Most races in the game stretch from one race course to the next. This actually became a bit of a gripe for some veterans of the series, as it turned many races into long, straight stretches with little opportunity to properly leverage skill-based shortcuts.
The two latest course releases hint at an intention here to expand the game. I just don’t quite understand why there isn’t a plan or roadmap in play. Why keep it a secret? It feels like an omission from Nintendo’s 2026 lineup, even with a Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake on the horizon.
Though, I shouldn’t gawk too hard at the Big N’s decisions, lest I become another mark on their scorecard of those who doubted it.
Do you regularly play Mario Kart World? Or have you bounced off it after launch? What are your thoughts on how they can expand the game? Let me know in the comments.
