Spoilers for Mario Kart World ahead.Mario Kart World is a massive game that, days after release, is still leaving players surprised at how many secrets there are to find within its gigantic map. Between the large roster of characters and costumes, P-Switch missions, Peach Medallions and more, to say that Mario Kart World completionists are going to have their hands full may be an understatement. Players have already hit the ground running trying to keep track of everything in the game, which may serve as a head start if post-launch updates give them even more content.
Ahead of Mario Kart World's launch, the game's producer made comments that seemed to say that the kart racer might not have drawn its final curtain yet. Post-launch updates for Mario Kart World would certainly make sense; Nintendo has a history of keeping its most prominent releases alive, and as World started a new era for the Switch family of consoles, it certainly fits the requirements. If Mario Kart World is due for post-launch support, then it may be for the best that it does its own thing rather than following in other kart racers' footsteps.
Mario Kart World's producer has only spoken about possibly adding 200cc in a future update. No Mario Kart World DLC has been announced at this time.
Mario Kart World Has Over 200 Unique Routes, And It Takes Over 10 Hours to Do Them All
A Mario Kart World player takes over 10 hours to map out each alternate route in the Nintendo Switch 2 game, with over 200 discovered so far.
Mario Kart World Should Focus on Features and Tracks Instead of Characters for DLC
Games like Mario Kart World are no stranger to post-launch updates and DLC. Mario Kart 8 had a healthy release schedule even as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and even World's competitor Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has already let future players know of its future free updates and paid DLC roadmap. Even with post-launch content being as common as it is among mascot and kart racers, they all tend to hone in on one thing in particular, and that's usually skins and additional characters.
A lot of iconic racers have been added as post-launch DLC for mascot racing games before, like Link from The Legend of Zelda in Mario Kart 8. Getting more characters to race is the opposite of the problem in plenty of titles, but Mario Kart World may be the expectation. Its roster is already gigantic. Many fan-favorite Mario Kart characters have tons of alternate costumes, and a bunch of enemies and in-game NPCs have extra roster slots on top of that.
The character selection is great, but it comes with a large scroll bar attached to it already. Players have also found frustration with it because most NPC racers, like the Piranha Plant, Cataquack, and even the Pianta of Isle Delfino, can only be obtained under the effect of Kamek, a rare item that turns these unlocks into a game of chance. Mario Kart World would be better off adding requested features it missed out on along the way, like 200cc, and new tracks.
What Post-Launch Features and Tracks Could Add to Mario Kart World's Experience
Characters aren't the only thing that Mario Kart World has in abundance, but that doesn't mean there isn't any room for anything new. The map in World may already be massive, but there's potential to add extra land to the island players can already explore. If it isn't possible to expand the map that's already there, then Mario Kart World could possibly add a second island full of DLC-only tracks to explore.
On top of that, 200cc is likely the first on many MKW update wishlists for players. Other new features, like being able to choose what items appear in races, could assist players struggling to unlock all the Kamek item characters. While a few new characters here or there could be exciting additions to the huge roster, giving players more to do and see would ultimately be better for Mario Kart World's longevity.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- June 5, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone // Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo







- Genre(s)
- Racing, Open-World