The discussion here today will primarily focus on retro tracks, that is, racing courses from previous Mario Kart games adapted to Mario Kart World.
Course Predictions
Some courses will have to be built on another island or in the ocean, but there is a ton of space for additional construction on the Mushroom Kingdom mainland.
When you consider Nintendo’s perspective, it turns out that there’s a pretty clear throughline for potential DLC courses. Donkey Kong and Daisy-themed courses are notably absent from the base game, both of which could fit nicely with a certain tropical vacation spot.
On the mainland, I envision a Daisy-centric region combining the inland Daisy Hills and the costal town featured in Daisy Circuit. Daisy Cruiser would be docked in the (Toad) Harbor, ready to set sail for Isle Delfino or Yoshi’s Island (MK8).
Delfino Square (DS) would act as the city center with Sunshine Airport (WiiU) offering a way back to the mainland. Coconut Mall (Wii) matches the aesthetics of Isle Delfino, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they managed to shoehorn a fan favorite into the DLC.
Isle Delfino’s tropical environment is a perfect place to put DK Jungle (3DS) and DK Mountain (GCN), connected to Delfino Square by way of DK Jungle Parkway (N64).
Those of you who played Super Mario Sunshine may recall that Bowser’s secret lair existed within the volcano (called Corona Mountain), which would be a perfect spot for another of Bowser’s Castles, likely the GameCube or 3DS.
There’s also an amusement park on the island called Pinna Park, which could house attractions like Baby Park (GCN), Water Park (WiiU), and/or the long-lost Wario Colosseum (GCN).
Admittedly, it is a little odd to see such an old location as the focus of a DLC, but Piantas and Shine Sprites have had a consistent presence since their introduction in Super Mario Sunshine as well, including appearances in Mario Kart World
Mario Kart World is more in touch with…uh…whatever passes for canon in Mario lore than past entries and Isle Delfino would be the perfect place to host a Shine Sprite Cup.
On the mainland, there are some empty-ish spaces on the map, and I think we could expect to see additional tracks inserted into appropriate environments:
- Maple Treeway (Wii) and/or Ninja Hideaway (Tour) could fit nicely near Cheep Cheep Falls.
- Mushroom Gorge (Wii) would fit near Dandelion Depths and make the latter’s seclusion feel more authentic.
- Koopa Cape (Wii) with deep rivers and a fully enclosed glass might be able to fit behind Acorn Heights.
- Luigi’s Mansion (DS) m
- Out in the desert, there’s easily space for Dry Dry Ruins (Wii) and possibly an expansion of Kalamari Desert (N64), though I think the latter might work better as a tribute.
- While we have a far more accurate version of Sherbet Land in Sky High Sundae, either the GameCube or Nintendo 64 version could probably fit nearby.
Don’t forget that above and below ground are also fair game. Super Bell Subway (WiiU) would work great underground to give Nintendo some more flexibility to include and logically connect wackier courses, like Waluigi Pinball (DS)
Likewise, inserting Wario’s Gold Mine into the Mushroom Gorge could help create a sense of natural verticality, though sticking it inside Whistlestop Summit is a far more logical choice. Cloudtop Cruise (WiiU) could do something similar near Moo Moo Meadows and connect to Airship Fortress.
I doubt we’ll get much in the way of Rainbow Roads considering their ubiquity in the Booster Courses, but I have to think they’ll bring back one for the finale of the DLC.
The GameCube and DS versions of Rainbow Road were notably absent from the Booster Courses, and I could definitely see one of them making some sort of a comeback in the skies above DK Spaceport, though the space station aesthetic of the WiiU/Switch version of Rainbow Road would be a much stronger match.
There is one glaring omission I have not yet mentioned. Despite its constant presence since it was introduced and the complexities with adding another large city, I’m flabbergasted that Neo Bowser City (3DS) isn’t in Mario Kart World. Perhaps it demands its own expansion…
Nintendo’s Priorities and Considerations
Racetracks are the main type of content in Mario Kart and will continue to be the focus of future DLC for the franchise. It also has more restrictions than drivers and vehicles, to the extent it’s worth considering the priorities Nintendo will likely follow, including:
- Fun
- Adaptability
- Freshness and Popularity
Fun
Nintendo always prioritizes fun over everything else, and they are willing to throw us curveballs to achieve that end. Only once it’s fun can remaining priorities be considered.
It takes more than just a fresh coat of paint. Retro courses need to be adaptable to Mario Kart World.
Adaptability
It goes without saying that crossover tracks like Mute City and Hyrule Circuit are not adaptable without the associated characters coming with them. Given the greater focus on Mario lore, crossovers are less likely in Mario Kart World.
Ultra-simple courses from the SNES days already exist in the form of P-Switch tributes at relevant locations, and I wouldn’t bet on anything older than the N64 or 3DS making it into Mario Kart World.
Barely 3D tracks from the likes of Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) have virtually no shot at being adapted to Mario Kart World unless they feature something very unique that tickles Nintendo’s imagination, like Ribbon Road did in Mario Kart 8’s DLC.
Ribbon Road leveraged the most prominent difference between Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Kart World—anti-gravity and the grandiosity it enables. Mario Kart World’s courses necessarily follow the laws of physics more strictly; they are more grounded.
It’s true that there are a couple of magical/high-tech racetracks in Mario Kart World, enabling things like the loop-de-loop on Rainbow Road and electrifying stunts at Bowser’s Castle, but anti-gravity does not really exist in Mario Kart World, not remotely in the same sense as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Water courses are in a similar boat (pun intended), though, as we’ve seen with the likes of Wario Shipyard, courses with bits previously underwater can be redesigned so that you jet ski across the water instead.
Redesign is the name of Nintendo’s retro course game in Mario Kart World, and if a course isn’t fleshed out enough to be adaptable, it’s likely already been reused and refined into a part of the World.
Take Yoshi Falls for example. It’s one of the simplest modern tracks in the entire franchise, but it won’t get its own dedicated port because the “waterfall series as racetracks” idea has been incorporated near the finish line at Faraway Oasis and, as seen below on the intermission to Dino Dino Jungle.
Freshness and Popularity
Aside from the adaptability restrictions caused by the wholesale removal of anti-gravity and underwater driving, tracks from Mario Kart 8 have been the core Mario Kart experience for a decade now.
Mario Kart 8 tracks will feel stale rather than fresh, and while Mario Kart World does look and play better than its predecessor, players can still get a similar experience by playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch 2.
A little bit of staleness can be overcome by sheer popularity. Despite being in almost every Mario Kart game since they released, some courses are so beloved that there’s a good chance they could return. I’m referring to courses like Coconut Mall, Mushroom Gorge, and Baby Park.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course DLC was nothing more than a simple port of a majority of the tracks from Mario Kart Tour, sunsetting the game’s active development.
While they were used recently, courses that were not featured in the base game are far more likely to be up for grabs, if for nothing more than pure necessity. The bones of Mario Kart were already picked clean by Mario Kart Tour.
Significantly worse visuals and a smaller place in recent memory also make it much easier to justify bringing them back, especially considering they might be able to use those maps as a starting point.
Drivers and Vehicles
Nintendo didn’t add much to the roster with its DLCs to Mario Kart 8, but given the popularity of customization and the much larger roster of both drivers and vehicles in Mario Kart World, I think there will be more added with an upcoming DLC.
Drivers
The strongest evidence for some sort of imminent DLC comes from the fact that Donkey Kong and others from his country are so underrepresented.
Both Mr. Kong and Pauline only have a single alternate costume each, despite the only other first-party launch title being Donkey Kong Banaza. However, there are plenty of notable omissions:
- Koopalings
- Larry
- Lemmy
- Iggy
- Morton
- Roy
- Wendy
- Ludwig
- Dry Bowser
- Petey Piranha (especially with Isle Delfino)
- Diddy Kong
- Young/Baby Pauline
- Funky Kong
- Additional Appearances
- Donkey Kong
- Pauline
- Birdo
- Shy Guy
- Creatures
- Buzzy Beetle | Spiny | Spike Top
- Boomerang Bro | Fire Bro
- Koopa Paratroopa (flying, red shell)
Vehicles
There are already some retro vehicles in Mario Kart World but adding them is not as straightforward as it is with characters because stats and traits are designed for the unique gameplay from the game they’re from.
Vehicles from recent entries like Mario Kart 7 and 8 are configurable, so Nintendo has to settle on a canon appearance, which is doable, assuming the vehicle in question is capable of sprouting wings instead of a glider.
Bikes and ATVs weren’t introduced until Mario Kart Wii, while karts from Mario Kart: Double Dash are immediately disqualified because they’re designed to seat 2 characters.
Go back futher than that and you end up with fewer customization options and more simplistic designs. For example, in Mario Kart 64, all 8 drivers used what is now known as the Pipe Frame.
The main sources of retro vehicles will be from Mario Kart Wii and Tour, along with pre-defined combinations from Mario Kart 7 and 8, assuming it wasn’t already imported into Mario Kart World like one of the vehicles below:
Beyond that, Mario Kart World is missing a bunch of key vehicle archetypes found in multiple previous games to match all the appearances, like:
- Speedboat
- Wooden Ship
- Train (kart)
- Carriage
- Stroller
- Dragster
- Construction Equipment
- Sportscars
- Barrels
- Eggs (I don’t make the rules)
Hopefully, the more limited number of vehicles is a byproduct of the balance issues caused by terrain specialization because Mario Kart World is the first game that has a deep enough well of appropriate vehicles to pull from.
Mario Kart World DLC Release Date
Nintendo really doesn’t have a whole lot of DLC under its belt, so it’s impossible to offer a reliable release date prediction, especially with Mario Kart World changing up the formula so much.
The original DLC for Mario Kart 8 came out in 2 waves of 8 courses ~6 months apart from release. They also have a more recent history of doling out DLC in smaller, more frequent batches, including with the Booster Course Pack from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
It’s relatively common for Nintendo to start releasing DLC 3 months after a game has launched, so we could get something as early as September 2025, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to wait until holiday 2025 instead.
Of course, it’s entirely possible, if improbable, that Nintendo doesn’t release DLC for Mario Kart World at all. They don’t do DLC for every game and Mario Kart World doesn’t seem to be as much of a smash hit as its predecessor was.
