Following Mario Kart 7 and 8, there was a common assumption among fans of Nintendo’s beloved racing franchise that “Mario Kart 9” would naturally be the name of the next installment – until the announcement of Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World.
In Nintendo’s latest “Ask the Developer” article, the name was addressed by producer Kosuke Yabuki, who explained that the numerical approach was left in the dust after it was established that Mario Kart World would have a wider scope.
“If the idea had just been to add more courses, then I think we would’ve called it Mario Kart 9. – But, that wasn’t our approach this time. We wanted to take the series to the next level. So, we decided to drop the numbering this time and go with a completely new title, Mario Kart World. So, we’d already added “MARIO KART WORLD” to the concept art from the early stages of development.”
The article even included an image of the concept art mentioned by Yabuki.
Other highlights from this Ask the Developer piece include the reveal that Mario Kart World was originally a Switch 1 game, and that development began as far back as 2017.
Mario Kart World will launch worldwide along with the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5th.
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Written by Reece Heather
A lifelong Nintendo fan and a longtime editor at Zelda Universe, Reece will forever be grateful that he somehow dodged the Naughty List of Christmas 1998, when Santa delivered the life-changing gift of a Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Mario Kart 64. When he's not playing games, Reece is usually reading Punisher comics, delving helplessly into the weirdest depths of anime and manga, or spending time with his cocker spaniel Gracie -- the goodest girl ever!
