A new Mario Kart game is on the way. Although Nintendo did not officially announce the title, the latest installment in the popular kart racing series was shown off in today's Nintendo Switch 2 announcement trailer.
The trailer focused mostly on highlighting the new and improved features of the Nintendo Switch 2, but offered very little else in terms of specific details. We still don't know the exact launch date (other than sometime this year), pricing, or launch titles. It would seem, however, that this new untitled Mario Kart is likely going to be available at the system's launch.
Towards the end of the trailer, at around the 1:42 mark, Nintendo shows the new Mario Kart game being played on the Switch 2. We're only treated to about 15-20 seconds of gameplay footage, but already passionate fans have broken down the details.
Many fans took notice of Donkey Kong's seemingly new appearance. Donkey Kong has long maintained his Donkey Kong Country appearance in the Mario Kart franchise; however, it seems that his look in this new game is more inspired by the version of the character seen in 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Another seemingly big takeaway is the number of racers. At the very beginning of the clip, we see the starting line with what looks like 24 spots. This would be double the number of racers in Mario Kart 8. If true, it's possible that this new Mario Kart game will feature larger tracks to accommodate more racers. Some fans are even speculating that there could be some sort of open world element to the game.
These are just some of the big takeaways from the brief glimpse at this new Mario Kart game. Again, Nintendo hasn't "officially" announced it, so we don't know if it's actually titled Mario Kart 9, or perhaps something different.
Mario Kart 8, the last mainline installment in the series, was released in 2014 for the Wii U. In 2016, Nintendo revealed Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch. It was released in April 2017, a month after the Switch's launch. Since then, the only other games we've gotten in the series are Mario Kart Tour, a mobile kart racing game for Android and iOS, and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, a kart racing mixed reality game.
A Switch 2-focused Nintendo Direct has already been confirmed for April 2, 2025. Hopefully, this upcoming stream will offer some more details on the Switch 2's launch lineup, including this newly revealed Mario Kart game.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will be capable of playing Switch 2 exclusive games as well as physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. With that said, we don't know if this Mario Kart game is being developed exclusively for Switch 2 or if it will also be available for the original Switch. Given the install base on the Switch, it would be crazy for Nintendo to completely ignore it. If anything, this new Mario Kart game could simply feature enhanced performance and maybe some exclusive Switch 2 features.