Mario Kart World, Other Nintendo Switch 2 Racing Games Look Creative and Fun

• Mario Kart World will include an interconnected map where you can drive around between races for the first time.
• Nintendo also announced the return of the long-dormant Kirby Air Ride series.
• Along with retro hits like F-Zero and Ridge Racer, the Switch 2’s launch this June has plenty in store for racing game fans.

Nintendo held an hourlong showcase for the upcoming Switch 2 today, and we noticed a fair amount of racing games planned for the company’s new console. Top of mind is Mario Kart World, the first new mainline installation in the series since 2014’s Mario Kart 8, but it’s not the only title that caught our eye.

Among the big three video game publishers — Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft — Nintendo has never been the home for racing game lovers. Mario Kart has been a mainstay since the Super Nintendo era, but Nintendo has never had a simulation racer akin to Sony’s Gran Turismo on PlayStation or Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport, or an epic open-world racing game like Forza Horizon. The latter changes soon.

Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World, set to release the same day as the Switch 2 on June 5, introduces dramatic changes to the Mario Kart formula that’s been in place since 1992. The big pivot is an open-world structure. Instead of just driving on individual tracks, players can explore a massive interconnected map scattered with activities, in addition to more traditional but tweaked grand prix sets of races and a new knockout battle royale mode.

The racing changes, too. Track conditions now change based on weather and time of day. Racers can now grind rails, execute wall rides, and even drive into the open back of a rocket-powered semi truck mid-race and run over their foes. 

New items allow racers to balloon in size to bash other racers out of the way, chuck hammers to slow them down, and change outfits to … look cute. Races now include up to 24 racers, double the starting grid of the last Mario Kart game. 

As for the carts themselves, there are familiar and new designs, and the motorcycles that debuted for 2007’s Mario Kart Wii stick around. Carts now go full Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, sprouting wings for aerial sections of track and turning into boats for water. What most catches my attention are a new snowmobile cart and a bike that looks suspiciously like Honda’s 1980s JDM Motocompo. Unfortunately, there’s no goofy automaker tie-in like in Mario Kart 8 where Mercedes-Benz added cartified versions of the 300 SL, Silver Arrow and MB’s third historical race car, the 2014 GLA subcompact crossover.

Tracks featured in the trailer include forests, deserts, wetlands, beaches, African-inspired savanas, and castles on the ground and in the sky(??). And remember, you’ll be able to explore the worlds around them. No word yet whether there will be remade courses from old games like there have been since Mario Kart DS.

Nintendo will announce more details on the game during its own Nintendo Direct presentation on April 16.

Oh, and a word on the new console’s performance: It’s way, way better than the original Switch. With the Switch 2 docked and playing on the TV, games can run at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second or up to 120 frames per second with a lower resolution. The hybrid console’s built-in screen can run the game at 1080p and up to 120 frames per second. HDR is supported in TV mode and handheld mode. That puts perennially behind Nintendo finally up to speed with PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Other Nintendo Racers

Mario Kart World wasn’t the only racer Nintendo showed off in the Switch 2 showcase. We got a teaser of Kirby Air Riders, an unexpected sequel to the character racer that came out on GameCube in 2003. The same guy behind the excellent Super Smash Bros series is leading development, so this should be a good one. 

Nintendo also announced a selection of titles from the original GameCube library will now be included as part of its online play subscription service, alongside existing Nintendo Classics offerings on NES, Super Nintendo, Game Boy systems and N64. 

The title that raises my eyebrows is F-Zero GX, an infamously challenging ultra high-speed futuristic racer that was the final mainline entry in the popular series when it debuted 22 years ago. It’s never been rereleased, and the version on Switch 2 will play in an upscaled resolution and offer online multiplayer for the first time.

Nintendo notably did not feature Mario Kart Double Dash (my favorite in the series) in the GameCube Nintendo Classics trailer. That said, the company did state more titles will be added in the future, and we expect Double Dash to be one of those titles considering three other Mario Kart games are already included in the Nintendo Classics collection.

Switch 2 third-party racing games

But the racing and driving fun on the console doesn’t just come from Nintendo. The 1993 PlayStation classic Ridge Racer will come to the new platform, as will Fast Fusion, something of a modern spiritual successor to the F-Zero series.

Codemasters, the developer behind countless critically acclaimed rally titles, the Project Cars sim racing series, and the modern F1 games, will likely be featured on the console as well. The showcase featured numerous titles by Electronic Arts, Codemasters’ parent company, so we expect the upcoming F1 25 as well as EA Sports WRC will eventually make their way to the new console.

Oh, and you can play Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2, which is not a racing game but has really sick customizable sci-fi cars, retrofuture Porsche 911s and Keanu Reeves.

When can I buy one?

The Nintendo Switch 2 launches June 5 at a price of $449.99, or $499.99 if you want a bundle that includes Mario Kart World, and preorders start April 9. I will be picking up a Switch 2 day one, and I will play as Donkey Kong riding a Motocompo.