Mario Kart World Has a DLC Problem Nintendo Can’t Easily Solve

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While Mario Kart World is a good game and will likely continue to sell well on the Nintendo Switch 2, it didn’t quite become the massive hit Nintendo expected. Reviews were a bit mixed, and it doesn’t seem to have captured the long-term excitement of other Mario Kart titles. It’s hard to imagine many people considering it one of the best Mario Kart games of all time, largely because it’s missing some key tracks that would have made it truly special.

One way to improve Mario Kart World would be to add downloadable content, or DLC. My family loves Mario Kart 8 Deluxe mostly because of the huge variety of tracks. While some of the Mario Kart Wii tracks weren’t as good in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it generally succeeds because it offers so much more content than earlier and later games. Mario Kart World could become even better by adding DLC too, but it might be difficult to implement due to some significant challenges.

Nintendo Has Nowhere To Put Mario Kart World’s DLC

It might seem minor, but I’m genuinely worried about the future of Mario Kart World. In past Mario Kart games, Nintendo could easily add new tracks by simply creating new cups and adding them to the track selection. While making those cups took effort, it didn’t require much planning about how to fit a new track into the game’s structure. Mario Kart World, however, doesn’t have that option because of its open-world design.

Okay, so if Nintendo’s gonna keep adding tracks to Mario Kart World – and let’s be real, they definitely will – they’ve got a real space puzzle to solve. It’s not like just picking something from a menu! These tracks are physically built into the world, so size and layout matter a ton. Plus, adding new stuff is almost guaranteed to mess with the existing Knockout Tour setups and even the cups themselves. Everything’s connected, so if a new track cuts through an old layout, they might have to reshuffle the whole cup system to make it work. It’s a bigger deal than it seems!

Even if Nintendo can fit new areas into the game without disrupting the existing tracks, the map could still feel overcrowded. While the large, open spaces in Mario Kart World are a bit underwhelming, simply adding more tracks isn’t a good fix. What makes Mario Kart World special is the ability to drive between tracks, and reducing that distance would take away from the game’s atmosphere and what sets it apart.

Mario Kart World Can’t Afford To Skip DLC

One way to address this issue is to simply ignore the downloadable content and move on to the next game in the series. This would allow Mario Kart World to be the innovative, open-world installment, and future games could return to a more classic format with plenty of tracks. However, I think treating Mario Kart World this way diminishes its value. While it offers a good amount of content, it doesn’t feel substantial enough to justify its high price. It’s true that it has as many tracks as Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 did when they were first released, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a worthwhile purchase.

It’s important to remember that Mario Kart World originally cost $5 more than Mario Kart Wii when accounting for inflation. Also, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe eventually offered 96 tracks, and downloadable content (DLC) is now a common expectation. I believe many of us, including myself, probably bought Mario Kart World expecting additional tracks to be released later on.

As a huge Mario Kart World fan, I’m really hoping Nintendo doesn’t skip out on DLC. If they do, I think the game will just lose its appeal over time – especially since people waiting for more content might end up sticking with the older game that already has so much to offer on the Switch 2. So, Nintendo really needs to either squeeze in some extra tracks on the existing map or add a whole new one. While a new map sounds okay, I think it would take away what makes this Mario Kart so special – that one massive, connected world where the tracks all flow into each other. That’s what I love about it, and I’d hate to see that go!

Connecting the islands with a large bridge might work, creating something like a collection of courses, but it still doesn’t feel perfect. I’m really interested to see how Nintendo plans to add downloadable content to Mario Kart World, if they decide to. The game’s design presents a unique challenge, stemming from its structure and Nintendo’s smart take on open-world racing. I hope Nintendo doesn’t change the core design of Mario Kart World just to accommodate more maps, but I also don’t want the game to feel unfinished without new content. Only time will tell what Nintendo does, and I’ll be watching closely to see how it all unfolds.

Wondering if Mario Kart World will receive downloadable content? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-03-24 02:40