‘Mario Kart World’ is getting a major free update
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Mario Kart World is set to receive a major free update, version 1.8.0, adding 10 new race courses adapted from the original 1992 Super Mario Kart. The tracks were reportedly already embedded within the game's open world and will now be fully playable in VS Race mode, giving fans of the divisive Nintendo Switch 2 title fresh content and a nod to the franchise's roots.
The new courses include Choco Island 1 and 2, Vanilla Lake and Ghost Valley, among others, drawn from the SNES original that sold 8.76 million copies worldwide. The update also adds two routes, Propeller Rally and Turnip Rally, for the battle-royale-style KO Tour mode. Mario Kart World launched alongside the Switch 2 on 5 June 2025 and has sold 15.3 million copies, though Nintendo has faced criticism over dull open-road stretches in online play, some of which it has already redesigned in response to player feedback.
- Mario Kart World's free 1.8.0 update adds 10 courses from 1992's Super Mario Kart
- Includes Choco Island, Vanilla Lake, Ghost Valley and more, plus two KO Tour routes
- Game has sold 15.3 million copies despite mixed reaction to open-world design
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Mario Kart World is a racing game for Nintendo's Switch 2 console, released alongside the hardware on 5 June 2025. It reimagines the long-running Mario Kart series with an open-world design, letting players drive freely between tracks rather than just racing on standalone courses. Since launch it has sold over 15 million copies, though some players and critics have found the open-road sections between races repetitive.
The wider Mario Kart franchise dates back to Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo in 1992, one of the best-selling games of its era. Nintendo regularly supports its games after release with free updates that add characters, modes or courses, which is a common practice across the games industry to keep players engaged and extend a title's lifespan.
Full account
Nintendo has confirmed that Mario Kart World, the racing title that launched alongside the Nintendo Switch 2, is to receive a substantial free update. Revealed during Nintendo's September 2026 Direct presentation, update version 1.8.0 will introduce ten courses adapted from Super Mario Kart, the original entry in the franchise, which first appeared on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. According to Nintendo, these classic layouts had already been woven into the fabric of the game's open-world map and can now be selected as standalone races within VS Race mode.
The returning courses draw on some of the most fondly remembered tracks from the SNES original, including multiple versions of Mario Circuit, Ghost Valley and Choco Island, along with Vanilla Lake and Koopa Beach. Nintendo has said that most of these revived circuits will use old-fashioned rotating item panels rather than the floating item boxes seen elsewhere in Mario Kart World, echoing how items were dispensed in the 1992 game, though the route leading into Mario Circuit will retain modern item boxes. Alongside the retro tracks, the update adds two fresh routes for Knockout Tour, the game's large-scale elimination mode, named Propeller Rally and Turnip Rally.
Coverage of the announcement placed the update in slightly different contexts. Reporting focused on the Nintendo Direct itself noted that the update also brings a spectator mode for players watching friends race online or over a local network, and pointed out that no new playable characters or costumes were included this time, despite some fans hoping for additions on that front. It also flagged that this was Nintendo's second Direct broadcast that week, following a presentation dedicated to the Zelda series the day before, and reproduced Nintendo's own description of the classic tracks as having been "hiding in plain sight" across the game's world.
Other accounts placed greater emphasis on the history and reception of the games involved. Super Mario Kart, released in Japan in August 1992, went on to become one of the best-selling titles on the SNES, shifting close to nine million copies worldwide and later resurfacing on the Wii's Virtual Console and the SNES Classic Edition mini-console. This reporting also revisited the mixed critical response to Mario Kart World since its June 2025 launch, noting that although the game has sold more than 15 million copies, its open-world structure drew criticism for forcing online players through long, uneventful stretches of road before reaching proper circuits, a problem Nintendo partially addressed in earlier patches by reworking some of those sections. Both accounts agreed, however, that the new update, due to roll out to Switch 2 owners at no extra cost, is likely to be welcomed by players keen for more traditional racing content.
Where outlets differ
Reporting on the Nintendo Direct emphasised the event context (Nintendo's second Direct that week, after a Zelda-focused Direct), quoted Nintendo's own press release language, and additionally noted a new spectator mode and the absence of new characters or outfits.
Other reporting emphasised background context instead: the sales history and legacy of the original 1992 Super Mario Kart, and a recap of Mario Kart World's mixed critical reception since launch, including complaints about dull open-world straightaways in online play.
Only one account specified item panels replacing item boxes on the revived tracks (with an exception for the Mario Circuit approach) and gave the full grouping of the ten courses; the other described the tracks more generally without the full list or the item-panel detail.
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