The next Mario Kart game will be the biggest one yet. Right now, the expectation is that the next mainline Mario Kart game — and the first since Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — will be a Nintendo Switch 2 game and ready for the launch window of the console. To this end, it is expected to release sometime in 2025. And there are a few reasons we suspect it will be the bigger and better than every previous installment.
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The first is because rumors are suggesting as much. Rumors, dating all the way back to 2023, have alleged the next mainline installment is set to be one of the most expensive games Nintendo has ever made. Specifically, it is claimed that “Nintendo are sparring absolutely no expense with the game.” If the game is going to be one of the most expensive games Nintendo has ever made, then it is safe to assume it will also be the biggest Mario Kart to date in terms of amount of content and ambition.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is also the best-selling game on Nintendo Switch, despite being a port of a Wii U game, Mario Kart 8. As of March this year, it has sold a massive 61 million units. This is probably why Nintendo is reportedly prepared to spend as much as it needs to on the next game, as it is sure to make its investment back and then some.
Mario Kart has established itself as Nintendo’s biggest commercial IP, at least in the gaming space. While it doesn’t have the multi-media potential as Mario, Zelda, and other IP it has been consistently one of the pillars of the Nintendo brand as far as gaming is concerned. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe firmly established it as arguably Nintendo’s biggest IP.
To this end, it has been 10 years since the release of the last mainline Mario Kart game. If the next installment releases next year, that will be an 11 year gap. That is a very long time for Nintendo to make Mario Kart fans wait. There was Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit in 2020, but this wasn’t a proper mainline installment. There was also Mario Kart Tour in 2019, but the same applies.
There is so much pent up demand for a new Mario Kart game that when Nintendo finally delivers one we suspect it to explode in sales, especially if the game’s ambition matches the size of the demand for it, which it sounds like it will. To this end, we suspect it will be the best-selling game on Nintendo Switch 2.
That said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. What do you want to see from the next mainline Mario Kart game?
