Mario Kart World’s free September 9 update is now available on Nintendo Switch 2, bringing a retro lineup based on classic Super Mario Kart designs to VS Race. Nintendo announced the content during the September 9 Nintendo Direct, and it went live after the presentation.
The 10-course lineup gives racers a fresh reason to revisit some of the series’ older ideas. SNES Choco Island 1 and Choco Island 2 are available as options under the standard Choco Mountain track. Vanilla Lake and Ghost Valley are also part of the update, with the courses recreated around their classic layouts.
Several of the classic-inspired courses feature ? Panels that racers can drive over to collect items in VS Race. On these retro routes, the panels sit directly on the racing surface instead of floating above it in Item Boxes, recreating an item pickup rule from the original Super Mario Kart. The scenery was already familiar from Mario Kart World’s launch, but the routes had not been playable in VS Race until now.
Knockout Tour expands with two new courses
Knockout Tour also gains Propeller Rally and Turnip Rally. Both courses arrive in the same free update, expanding the mode alongside the Super Mario Kart-inspired tracks.
Drill Rally and Boomerang Rally joined the mode in July, and four blank spaces remain in the current Knockout Tour lineup. Nintendo has not announced what will fill those spaces, leaving room for more rallies in future updates.
The new tracks follow Mario Kart World’s 1.4.1 patch
Mario Kart World launched in June 2025 as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive and has received several updates since then. The content arrives after Mario Kart World’s 1.4.1 patch, which addressed controller reconnects and a possible Time Trial ghost deletion issue. That earlier release focused on stability, while the September 9 update adds playable content in VS Race.
Recent free updates have also added new uses for Photo Mode, including stickers collected during play.
Players do not need to pay extra for the new courses or Knockout Tour additions.
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Mario Kart World
Developed by Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 9
Mario Kart World is a kart racing game for the Nintendo Switch 2, featuring characters from the Mario franchise. It introduces an open-world design to the series, allowing players to drive freely between courses rather than selecting them from a menu. Races support up to 24 players and include new mechanics such as off-roading, boat racing, rail grinding, and wall riding. The game features a Knockout Tour elimination mode where racers compete across connected courses with periodic eliminations at checkpoints, as well as a Free Roam mode for open exploration and collectible-finding.
- Genre Racing, Adventure
- Platforms Nintendo Switch 2
- Perspective Third person
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Split screen
- Release June 5, 2025
- Publisher Nintendo
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Age Rating
