Mario Kart World – Xenoblade Chronicles Developer Was Contracted for Open World

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Monolith Soft, a key studio often utilized by Nintendo for creating their open-world games such as “Xenoblade Chronicles 3″, is known for crafting vast open worlds even on hardware with limited resources. In a recent social media update, it was unveiled that the team also contributed to the development of the open-world kart racer, “Mario Kart World”.

The studio’s social media post reveals that “Mario Kart World” has been launched. Interestingly, it also shares that Monolith Soft, under contract from Nintendo, played a significant role in developing the game’s open world and some of its character designs. In simpler terms, the studio stated, “Nintendo Co., Ltd released ‘Mario Kart World’, which was developed by Monolith Soft in terms of the game’s fields and character designs.” (Translation courtesy of X)

Monolith Soft is primarily recognized for its series of open-world RPGs, Xenoworld Chronicles, but they’ve also lent their expertise in the past to assist Nintendo in creating games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a title that was lauded for its innovative open-world design and gameplay. Lately, they have not only launched the Definitive Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X and Xenoblade Chronicles 3, but they’ve also collaborated with other Nintendo studios on games within the Pikmin, Animal Crossing, and Splatoon franchises.

Previously, Monolith Soft had been associated with Nintendo for a considerable period. In December, the acquisition of Monolith Soft by Nintendo was finalized. Initially, co-founders Hirohide Sugiura, Tetsuya Takahashi, and Yasuyuki Honne retained 4% of the company’s shares, but ever since, Nintendo has taken full ownership by acquiring all remaining shares of the studio.

Despite the accolades Mario Kart World’s open world might receive, its producer Kosuke Yabuki has disclosed that the game’s creators aren’t particularly fond of labeling it as an “open-world game”. Yabuki explains this preference because the term is quite vague and not always clearly defined.

Yabuki stated that the team doesn’t refer to the game world as an “open world” because they believe the term isn’t explicitly defined. He further explained that while Mario Kart World offers a larger area for players to discover, they have filled it with distinct locations like the Mario Kart Circuit, Bowser Castle, and Choco Mountain, all aiming to create a unique Mario Kart experience.

Regarding the vastness of the game’s environment and the numerous racing paths it offers, Yabuki highlighted the importance of maintaining a balanced game due to the intricate connections between the game’s roadways in its design.

In the latest version of Mario Kart, each road is linked together, so modifying a specific route for an easier passage affects every other connected path as well,” pointed out Yabuki. This means we had to understand that they’re all intertwined and ensure a proper balance in design overall.

Mario Kart World is out now as one of the launch titles for the Nintendo Switch 2.

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2025-06-05 16:41