On Wednesday, Nintendo officially announced Mario Kart World, the next big installment in the Mario Kart racing series for its next-gen console, the Nintendo Switch 2. Arguments about its steep price point aside, there’s a lot of hype surrounding the franchise’s first foray into open-world design. Nintendo promised during the presentation that the game would feature its largest character roster yet and according to new information, that equates to around 84 racers.
Social media user BearUNLV clipped a segment from the recent Nintendo Treehouse Live event which highlighted Mario Kart World‘s character select screen. There are three rows of four characters adding up to 12 on each page with seven tabs available. Doing some basic math, that equals 84 characters which also accounts for costume variants. For comparison, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe featured 36 characters.
The 84 character roster for Mario Kart World is guesswork for now until Nintendo officially confirms it, so take this with a pinch of salt. However, Nintendo bluntly stated that the game would feature its largest roster of characters in a Mario Kart game yet and with races expanding to include 24 competing racers, that sounds about right.
In related news, Nintendo confirmed that some ‘Switch 2 editions’ of older games will cost as much as $80 including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Party Jamboree. It’s unclear how Nintendo exclusives will be priced going forward but industry analysts are warning gamers to brace for the rest of the gaming industry to follow in its footsteps with higher game prices expected within the next two years.
“Zip around courses in a vast world where everything is connected,” reads the game’s official description. “Race along grassy plains, bustling cities, wide-open waters, big ol’ volcanos, and more—plus everything in between. Exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 system!”
Mario Kart World launches on 5 June 2025 alongside the Nintendo Switch 2. Keep up to date with all Switch 2-related news right here.
Source: BearUNLV
