There’s A New Mario Kart Game Coming To Nintendo Switch 2

Well, the internet’s worst-kept secret has finally been outed. The Nintendo Switch 2 is coming this year, and well, that’s about all we can tell you from the official details so far. That said, its reveal has given us a first look at a new Mario Kart game.

Weaved into the 2:21 announcement trailer for the new Nintendo console are screenshots from an untitled Mario Kart game. It’s pretty clear these aren’t taken from Mario Kart 8, given the ‘Mario Bros. Circuit’ isn’t in that and the style of karts is totally new.

We can only assume this is Mario Kart 9 unless Nintendo decides to break a cycle of numbered titles stretching back to MK6 on the 3DS.

As seen at 1:45, Mario and pals appear to be using more new off-road style vehicles which look a bit more rugged than the usual default karts, implying either A) these won’t be the base vehicles or B) the game as a whole could take a more off-road nature. Yes, we’re really stretching for things to speculate on here.

We haven’t spotted any new character in the series from the brief snippets of footage, but it appears Donkey Kong’s art style has changed, so a few others could follow. In the meantime, we’re still hoping that Nintendo will finally find a way to put Pikachu into a kart.

More details on this new Mario Kart title are expected on 2 April, with Nintendo confirming that as a date for a deep-dive into more specifics of the console. Expect the gaming giant to be hush until then, as it has a habit of not revealing anything until it really wants to.

Any other racing games coming to the Switch 2 remain unknown for now. Various reports and rumours have suggested Microsoft wants to bring its games to the platform, so there’s always an outside chance of a Forza Horizon port – although we won’t hold our breaths.