Mario Kart Worlddoesn’t feature any characters or elements from outside theMariouniverse, and one of the game’s developers recently explained why.Mario Kart Worldcould be one of the biggest entries in the classic mascot racing series yet, with larger, branching tracks, an open-world hub that players can explore at their leisure, and massive 24-player races. The game’s roster is also quite impressive, sporting 50 playable characters from across theSuper Mario Bros. franchise.
However, that 50-character roster doesn’t include any Nintendo characters outside of Mario and his ever-growing cast of friends and enemies. 2017’sMario Kart 8 Deluxefeatured guest appearances fromThe Legend of Zeldahero Link,Splatoon’s Inkling Girl and Inkling Boy, and Isabelle and a pair of Villagers fromAnimal Crossing. Players could also race throughF-Zero’s Mute City and the Excitebike Arena fromExcitebike, leaving fans to wonder what new crossover content the next installment would bring.
Mario Kart Worlddoesn’t feature any crossover content with non-MarioNintendo properties, and producer Kosuke Yabuki offered his explanation of why in a recent interview withOuest France(viaGamesRadar). Yabuki says that with so many characters from theMariofranchise being playable inMario Kart World, it felt incongruous and unnecessary to add anyone else. “It didn’t seem necessary to us, given everything we could already do with Mario,” he stated. Yabuki was then asked if he ever consideredadding a character fromArms(his last project beforeMario Kart World), to which he replied, “Absolutely not!”
Mario Kart World Devs Felt Crossover Characters Weren’t Necessary
That isn’t to say that crossover characters couldn’t be added toMario Kart Worldin future DLC, but for now, Yabuki and his team are pleased with the warm reception the latestMario Kartgame has received. He was even asked about hisfavorite playable character inMario Kart World, and Yabuki shared the same sentiment as many other players by saying that it is the newcomer, Cow. This lovable bovine has been dominatingMario Kart Worldmultiplayer lobbies, much to Yabuki and the development team’s amusement.
So far,Mario Kart Worldis on the fast track to becoming one of the highest-rated games in the series and has been a blockbuster opening act for the new Nintendo Switch 2 console. There is currently no word onMario Kart Worldreceiving any post-launch DLCaside from the possibility of a new 200cc engine class. Still, perhaps Nintendo could dig further into its catalog of iconic games and characters for future content, just like Sega is doing withSonic Racing: CrossWorlds.
