Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart Game Seems To Feature a Big Improvement

The Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart game will seemingly support up to 24 players. This would mark a huge improvement compared to the previous entry in the Mario Kart franchise.

Following years’ worth of rumors and anticipation, the Switch successor was at last announced in the early morning hours PST on January 16. Nintendo unveiled the new console with a 141-second trailer that mostly focused on showcasing the device from all sides. An untitled Mario Kart game made an appearance near the end of the video, having been used to demonstrate how the Switch 2 will support both docked and handheld play, much like its predecessor.

As noted by Nintendo Everything, this brief cameo appears to confirm that the next Mario Kart installment will support races with up to 24 players. This feature is hinted at around the 1:40 mark in the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal trailer, which shows a track with 24 starting positions, arranged in four diagonal lines with six spots each. The trailer doesn’t actually show 24 racers, but it does feature a double-digit number of them.

Next Mario Kart Game Will Seemingly Double MK8D’s Player Limit

For comparison, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe allows up to 12 racers on any given track. All of them can be player-controlled during online play, whereas local multiplayer is limited to four players per console. It’s also possible to pair two Switch consoles wirelessly, enabling local multiplayer sessions for up to eight people. The next Mario Kart game hence seems poised to double the online player limit of MK8D. This is something that may not have been possible on Nintendo’s current-gen console, as the Switch 2 is believed to be significantly more powerful than its predecessor.

Mario Kart 9 Is Unlikely to Release Before June 2024

Nintendo’s track record suggests that the next entry in its long-running series may be titled Mario Kart 9. However, the Switch 2 reveal trailer didn’t reference the game by name. Although Mario Kart 9 was recently rumored for a March 3 release, this theory has now been effectively debunked. The Switch 2 reveal trailer concluded with the announcement of a console-focused Nintendo Direct on April 2, ruling out the possibility of the device releasing in March. Therefore, if Mario Kart 9 is a Switch 2 exclusive, it certainly won’t arrive in March.

Nintendo has scheduled Switch 2 hands-on preview events throughout spring, all the way up to June 1, which is when it will showcase the console in Seoul, South Korea. The move suggests that the upcoming device won’t hit the market before mid-2025.