Fans everywhere were ecstatic to see the Switch 2 announced, so the fact that this trailer came with a new Mario Kart reveal took everyone off-guard. While many assumed it was just Nintendo showing off the eighth installment again, further inspection confirms this is a brand-new entry in the series. Needless to say, launching the system with the company’s best-selling series is a good way to ensure sales.
The clip showing off this game was fairly short, but players have been observing every frame to find new details about this racer. Even if details on the game are slim, the few nuggets fans have seen are fairly exciting. It will be interesting to see what will make this new game stand out from previous entries.
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Until Nintendo fleshes out the new racer, here’s everything we know about Mario Kart for Switch 2.
Release Date
Like the Switch 2 itself, no release date for the new Mario Kart has been revealed. With rumours of the new system launching this year, we wouldn’t be surprised if the racer is a launch title. At the least, we imagine this game will come out around the same time as this system’s release date.
24-character roster
What really shocked fans about the game’s short release was seeing 24 active racers speeding around a desert-themed track. Although we couldn’t see every character, the usual suspects like Mario, Luigi, and Bowser were easy enough to spot. Eagle-eyed fans have also noticed racers making their debut in the series like Pauline.
If the previous games are anything to go by, we wouldn’t be surprised if even more racers are added to Mario Kart as DLC. Nintendo has been more open to extra content during the first Switch’s life cycle and Wii U generation, so more characters and tracks are inevitable.
For now, here are the characters fans were able to identify in the Switch 2 Mario Kart game:
- Mario
- Luigi
- Bowser
- Princess Peach
- Yoshi
- Toad
- Daisy
- Rosalina
- Donkey Kong
- Wario
- Koopa Troopa
- Pauline
- Waluigi
- Toadette
- Baby Mario
- Baby Luigi
- Baby Peach
- Baby Daisy
- Baby Rosalina
- Bowser Jr.
- Lakitu
- King Boo
- Shy Guy
- Birdo
Tracks with multiple routes
Despite only having a few seconds to look at the track these characters were racing in, fans did notice various paths that were blocked off. While every track in the series offers multiple routes, fans are hoping the new game will offer even more unique ones. This is something that the extra DLC tracks did in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, so we can see more of them incorporated into the base game.
So far that’s everything we know about the new Mario Kart for Switch 2. For more on Switch 2, check out everything we know about the system and information on Donkey Kong Country Returns HD.