Mario Kart World Direct Focused on Courses and Items

Now that the Mario Kart World Direct aired, we got to see how Nintendo used the presentation to showcase characters, courses and gameplay clips that showed how we can race on tracks or freely explore them.  It also confirmed past tracks will be reimagined in the Switch 2 game.

Here’s the full list of courses discussed in the Mario Kart World Direct. These are new tracks that will appear around the world. Rainbow Road was also teased, as well reimagined versions of past tracks. However, the video did seem to note you need to master all the Cups to reach Rainbow Road. 

• Boo Cinema
• Crown City
• Mario Bros Circuit
• Peach Beach
• Salty Salty Speedway
• Starview Peak
• Toad’s Factory
• Wario Shipyard

A handful of characters were named too, and the character select screen showed a number of major, returning members and smaller supporting ones who previously came up. Here are the ones specifically highlighted during the Direct:

• Mario
• Luigi
• Peach
• Bowser
• Goomba
• Spike
• Cow

After going over characters and courses, Nintendo used the Mario Kart World Direct to show off new items. Here’s a list of what came up:

• Coin Shell – Throw to get coins.
• Dash Food – Unlocks outfits inspired by the meal on the Character Select screen and gives you a burst of speed after grabbing one from a drive-thru.
• Feather – Allows you to jump higher than usual.
• Hammer – Aim them at enemies.
• Ice Flower – Use to freeze enemies.
• Kamek – Transforms enemy racers.
• Mega Mushroom – You become gigantic.

Things like the Bullet Bill, Lightning, Red Shells, Mushrooms, and the Super Star were all confirmed as items that will return during this showcase.

Here’s the full Mario Kart World Direct. It also went over things like Free Roam, Time Trials, VS Race, Battle Mode, Smart Steering, the Rewind function, and Tilt Controls that support the Joy-Con 2 Wheel. Four people can play on one system, up to eight can play together via multiplayer over two systems locally, and up to 24 can take part in Knockout Tour online.

Mario Kart World will come to the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, 2025.