Mario Kart World producer revealed that it was originally developed for Switch. Read on to learn more about how the game came to be and what changes the developers had to make when they shifted development for Switch 2.
Mario Kart World Developer Insights
Prototyping Began in 2017
Mario Kart World is the new entry in the racing-kart driving series that launches alongside Nintendo Switch 2. However, the game's development was in the works in 2017 while the developers were working on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
In the latest volume of Nintendo’s Ask the Developer series on May 21, the team behind Mario Kart World shared their insights about how the game came to be. According to Producer Kosuke Yabuki, after creating the prototype in March 2017, they officially started to work on the project by the end of that year. He said that they have perfected the formula for the series on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and wanted to create something bigger.
Furthermore, he also explained why the next title in the series will not be called Mario Kart 9, as many have expected. Yabuki said that their goal was beyond just adding more courses and taking the series to the next level, hence, they decided to drop the numbering for a completely new title. He stated, "So, we'd already added ‘MARIO KART WORLD’ to the concept art from the early stages of development."
Shifting to Switch 2
Programming Director Kenta Sato said that Yabuki first thought of moving to Switch 2 in 2020. At the time, the developers had an idea what the next-gen Switch would be, but it wasn’t until later that they had the opportunity to get their hands on actual working development units. "Until then, we just had to proceed with development based on provisional estimates," he stated.
The team wanted to make sure that they could fit their vision into the performance of the device they were developing for. Sato explained, "Of course, the Switch system's performance is sufficient for developing different kinds of games, but if we had included everything we wanted to in this game's vast world, then it wouldn't have run at 60 fps and would have suffered from constant framerate drops."
Once they had concrete knowledge of Switch 2’s capabilities, their worries went away, and they were confident that they could create the game they envisioned. "I remember being overjoyed when I discovered we could express even more than we'd originally set out to," Sato said.
However, upgrading to Switch 2 means the quality of their assets must also improve. Art Director Masaaki Ishikawa said that the graphics needed to be more detailed. Rather than being intimidated by the changes, the art team had a sense of relief that they could do much more.
Their shift to developing for Switch 2 gave them more leeway, opening up more chances to make the game look better, like adding more trees to terrain, making the art richer, and more things that were restricted due to the previous device’s performance.
Cow Being a Playable Character
Fans of the series were delighted to see in the trailer that Cow will be playable for the first time. In previous games, Cow was just a non-playable character, often part of the background or sometimes even an obstacle players needed to avoid.
Ishikawa said that each new Mario Kart game introduces a new character to race as. He revealed, "And then one of the designers came up with that silly sketch of Cow cruising along, and I thought to myself, ‘This is it!’ (Laughs) So that's when we realized the course surroundings actually contained a lot of untapped resources." Ishikawa was surprised that the inclusion of Cow did not feel out of place at all, and it opened the idea of adding more NPC characters in the future, as it made sense for their interconnected world.
Beyond the addition of an NPC being a playable racer, the developers have put much thought into various areas of the game to realize their goal of having an interconnected world. Their emphasis on different kinds of food helps make the world feel diverse. Adjustments to the karts to accommodate various terrains and constant changes to the tracks were also focused on.
With all the updates and information pouring in, fans are hyped to see the lovable plumber return in a vast new world of racing. Nintendo looks to go all in with Switch 2 as it brings one of its most beloved franchises to the console on day one.
Mario Kart World is set to release on June 5, 2025 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. To stay up to date with the latest information about the game, check out our article below!
Source:
Ask the Developer Vol. 18: Mario Kart World — Part 1
Ask the Developer Vol. 18: Mario Kart World — Part 2
Ask the Developer Vol. 18: Mario Kart World — Part 3
