Mario Kart World DLC Being A No-Show At The Nintendo Direct Is Worrying

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The recent hour-long Nintendo Direct event on Friday offered some updates for Super Mario Bros.’ 40th anniversary, including remakes and upgrades of classic games, however, the highly anticipated Mario Kart World for the Nintendo Switch 2 was noticeably absent. While Donkey Kong Banaza received a DLC update, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A surprisingly got a DLC announcement before its release, it seems that the flagship game for the Switch 2 is being overlooked.

It’s quite perplexing that there wasn’t any reference to Mario Kart World in Nintendo’s latest announcements, even though many gamers would be eagerly anticipating news about a potential update or new release for this popular racing game. The lack of mention is causing concern among the fan community.

Mario Kart World Updates Have Already Disappointed Fans

After its launch, Mario Kart World received positive feedback from both players and critics. However, as time passed, opinions among fans started to change, becoming more critical and even discontented. A significant update in late June altered the way course voting functioned in online modes, causing some players to claim that the game was “ruined”. In response, Nintendo attempted to address this perceived issue with a subsequent patch.

Despite this, some players of the game known as “Mario Kart World” believe that the open-world version represents a step back from past titles because it’s missing certain features and is plagued with UI issues. In summary, the absence of any recognition or attention towards “Mario Kart World” and its community has left players feeling neglected.

After that Direct..
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Although it might be that the DLC for Mario Kart World is still in an early stage of development, which could explain why it wasn’t shown during the Nintendo Direct event celebrating Super Mario’s 40th anniversary, it would have been a thoughtful gesture to acknowledge its existence, especially for devoted fans. Instead, the lack of mention about the DLC left the fans feeling anxious and uncertain.

Nintendo Should Support Mario Kart World For Years To Come

Nintendo typically prefers to distance itself from the live service game models commonly used by other major triple-A game publishers. However, Splatoon 3 represents an exception as it offers seasonal updates and rewards structures similar to battle passes. Since Mario Kart is one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, it would be a wasted chance not to provide consistent content updates for the new game.

Examining the chronology of Mario Kart 8 for Wii U, it took approximately six months following its release before the initial DLC pack, featuring Link as a playable character and a Zelda-themed track, became available. Subsequently, another five months passed before the Animal Crossing-themed DLC was unveiled. In contrast, the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch introduced new characters and tracks in six segments throughout 2022 and 2023, which is about five years after the initial game debuted, with each segment being released roughly every four to five months.

It’s possible that Nintendo might consider a strategy similar to the one where they continually release fresh content for Mario Kart World, potentially in large quantities over a short span. However, it’s worth noting that such an update schedule could be implemented much later down the line. Instead, a more suitable approach would be for Nintendo to treat Mario Kart World as an evolving game with a live service model, consistently expanding the universe and offering new experiences within the game world.

A terrific method to maintain player loyalty and confidence could involve implementing a seasonal approach. Since players are already anticipating additional content like the Donkey Kong Bananza DLC, why not structure an entire season around that theme? This season could feature characters such as young Pauline, Diddy Kong, and others, along with introducing DK Island as an open-world setting complete with new tracks.

On a similar note, the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder Switch 2 Edition launch in spring provides another opportunity for a season – introduce Wonder Seeds as an item, and bring Prince Florian on board as a new character.

In today’s rapidly evolving gaming world, it seems that Mario Kart World finds itself facing high expectations for continuous new content. As Nintendo has bypassed a Nintendo Direct and overlooked a significant milestone for Mario, this lack of action may cause doubts about when fresh updates will be released. Fingers crossed that this unease is short-lived, as we wouldn’t want to bid farewell to this game so quickly from our gaming horizons.

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2025-09-13 01:16