Mario Kart World Direct Reveals New Details - Grand Prix, Knockout Tour, and More - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 17 April 2025 / 4,150 Views
Nintendo today held the Mario Kart World Direct and revealed new details and gameplay footage for the upcoming open-world kart racing game.
View the Mario Kart World Direct below:
Read new details on the game below:
Mario Kart World features a series-first: an interconnected world where you can drive virtually anywhere, including across cities, plains, a desert and even the ocean. Races are held throughout this world’s various regions and feature dynamic weather conditions and a day / night cycle. Start your engines and compete for first place in Grand Prix or the new Knockout Tour mode or simply experience a leisurely drive across a world of diverse locales in Free Roam. The world is your racetrack, and there’s plenty to discover—solo or with friends, locally or online. This is just the starting line!
An Interconnected World
Drift, draft and drive your way around an interconnected world for the first time in a Mario Kart game. In Mario Kart World, the game’s courses are interspersed across the world with roads leading from one to the next – so players can experience navigating roads in between courses!
Grand Prix
Bring home the gold in Grand Prix, which consists of four different races to win each Cup – including the Mushroom
Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup, and More
Held across the game’s world. And for the first time in the series, racers will need to drive from one course to the next as part of the Grand Prix! In Mushroom Cup, for example, you’ll start off racing the Mario Bros. Circuit, then the second race will have you covering the distance from Mario Bros. Circuit to Crown City. Conquer every Grand Prix Cup and you might just unlock a certain colorful course!
Knockout Tour
Race from one end of the world to the other in these extended rallies, with checkpoints dotted throughout. If you don’t make the cut, you’re out of the running, so buckle up for these non-stop sprints because you’ll need to keep pace to stay in the race. Your rivals aren’t the only hazards you’ll need to avoid on the road, either. Vehicles that shoot Bullet Bills, Hammer Bros. attacks, and other obstacles will find their way into this mode as well. Drive to survive and keep your eyes on first place!
Free Roam
There is plenty to discover in Mario Kart World that goes beyond racing. So when you’re not aiming for first place, take the scenic route in Free Roam! Explore panoramic vistas, go (way) off-road, see the seas and find secrets like hidden coins, or hit P Switches to take on hundreds of missions that can help improve your driving skills outside of races. You can also take in-game photos while free roaming, so take a road trip and strike a pose at the sights.
Battle Mode
Battle Mode is back and more hectic than ever! Secure the gold by collecting the most coins in Coin Runners or burst your rivals’ balloons with items in Balloon Battle. If you pop all of your rival’s balloons, they are out!
New Techniques
Leap over obstacles and more with the new Charge Jump move. Use it to jump onto rails that you can grind, dodge attacks from your rivals and even jump toward a wall to ride on it for a short time. You can also chain together wall-rides to uncover hidden routes. Miss your mark during Free Roam or single-player mode? Just use Rewind to reset your vehicle to its original position—this is a great way to undo a driving mishap, but keep in mind that your rivals will still move normally while rewinding, so try not to lose your lead!
24 Racers
Mario Kart World features races with up to 24 participants from around the world – the most in Mario Kart series history! Modes like Grand Prix and Knockout Tour allow up to 24 players to compete, filling the game world with friends and familiar faces and plenty of rivals to vie for first place.
Fun With Everyone, Anywhere
Mario Kart World offers multiple ways to play together, locally or online. Up to four players can race split screen on the same system. The game also supports local wireless play where up to eight players (with up to two players per Nintendo Switch 2 system) can race together. And players from around the world can join a race or battle in online play. In Free Roam, you can also meet up with your crew anywhere in this game’s world. Drive around, see where your friends are on the map and warp to them instantly. Then race, battle with custom rules or take a road trip to see the sights together.
Even More Fun with GameChat
GameChat features an expanded online experience in the Mario Kart World game. Use the Nintendo Switch 2 built-in microphone to voice chat with friends while driving together or take a backseat and watch each other’s game screens. You can enjoy GameChat without needing a Nintendo Switch Online membership until March 31, 2026. After that, a Nintendo Switch Online membership will be required.
Camera Play
If you have a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera (sold separately)***, your face will show up beside your racer, and you can see your friends’ reactions when you play online! When playing locally with family and friends on the same system, a single camera can detect up to four people’s faces that you can see in-game as well.
Courses
Mario Kart World has many races to enjoy across its vast world. Rule the roads on brand new courses like Mario Bros. Circuit, the modern streets of Crown City, the snowy trails of Starview Peak and the spirited Boo Cinema, just to name a few. Nostalgic courses from previous Mario Kart games have also been reimagined to feel at-home within this vast, new world, offering fresh experiences on classics.
Characters
Get behind the wheel as familiar Mushroom Kingdom characters like Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser. Looking for a racer that’s a little more offbeat? Try taking Goomba, Spike and even Cow for a test drive.
New Items
Tear up the track with a selection of new and returning items. Throw a Coin Shell to knock rivals off course and make coins appear that gradually increase the speed of whoever collects them. Chill out the competition (and send ’em spinning) with the Ice Flower. Bring down the Hammer to nail your rival or briefly block their path. Use a Mega Mushroom to grow big and squash your rivals. Leap to new heights with the Feather. Call in Kamek’s magic to transform your rivals into something surprising and cause unexpected chaos on the course. The lower your position, the more likely you’ll receive items that could turn the tables, so when you get something good … go for it!
Drive-Thru and Roll-Out
Make a pit stop at Yoshi’s for a local delight – Dash Food! These to-go orders will give you a speed boost and sometimes also unlock outfits that can be donned from the character selection screen. There are plenty of dishes and outfits to find, so drive through when making your way around Mario Kart World.
Even More Modes
Whether you want to race or battle, there are even more ways to stoke some friendly competition in Mario Kart World. Race against the clock in Time Trials, where players can also go online to compete against ghost data from racers around the world. And you can customize the rules of the road in VS Race, where drivers can decide if they want to compete with two, three or four teams with a classic three-lap ruleset or by driving from one course to another.
Roadside Assistance
Looking for some options to assist you on race day? Features like Smart Steering to keep you on course, Auto-Accelerate and Tilt Controls for motion control steering are available to turn on or off whenever you like. Plus, if you have the Joy-Con 2 Wheel accessory (available as a set of two, sold separately) you can feel like you’re really driving!
Mario Kart World will launch alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Bluesky.
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Their justification...
- They sold 67M copies of a last gen port of a game from 2014 for $60 + $20 DLC
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IGN: "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe consistently ranked in the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S. for six consecutive years, from its release in 2017 until late 2023. Notably, it achieved this feat primarily through physical sales, as Nintendo does not report digital sales to Circana (formerly NPD)."
That's 6 straight years in the top 20 without reporting digital sales...
Everyone likes to argue (game price = hours played) and (short game = no buy)...
but then those same people get upset when it goes the other way. Nintendo knows people are going to play this game for 100+ hours over the next 6-10 years.
Not defending the price, nor am I attacking it... I just see a really weird disconnect with what gamers have been saying over the last several years and their reaction to MKW being $80
Nothing this game offers warrants an $80 price tag.
Definitely agree on this one.
The value proposition of games is and always was: fun. Given the history of the series Mario Kart usually has a lot of this value to offer. More so than many AAA games with inflated budgets and 100€ price tags for the ultimate edition + endless in game purchases.
Thankfully, we live in a world where we can pick and choose how to spend our money. You'll be happy to know there are countless other games one can purchase if the price tag for this one seems too high. Good luck and happy gaming!
Can't wait to free roam while listening to the initial d soundtrack.
Definitely seeing some Forza Horizon Influences in this title, and it looks good.
Horizon didn't invent open world racing. You can say Horizon took it from Burnout Paradise. Paradise took it from something else.
Maybe so, but Forza Horizon certainly popularized it more than any title before it and nothing matches or exceeds it today. No open world racing game has reached and success of Forza Horizon franchise. I don't think there is anything wrong with saying Mario Kart World took inspiration from Forza Horizon since it probably did.
It might not have Invented the wheel but I doubt Nintendo looked at Burnout for the new design.
Nor did they look at Forza
They most likely did. Its the hottest racing game on the market and MK is not hiding it either. Ill assume you have played Forza Horizon.
forza horizon is a fantastic and extremely fun! and yes nintendo at leastt looked at it
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