Mario Kart World May Charge Players for Diddy Kong

With Mario Kart World and the Nintendo Switch 2 releasing soon, fans are apprehensive about Diddy Kong’s absence, and they may have a reason to be. Diddy Kong has not appeared in any footage of Mario Kart World and Nintendo has been quiet about the popular character. However, a recent statement from Nintendo has fans even more worried about Diddy Kong’s fate in the upcoming title and whether he will be included in the base game or added later as paid DLC.

IGN sat down with Kosuke Yabuki, the producer of Mario Kart World, and directly asked about Diddy Kong in the game. Yabuki commented: “I’m afraid I can’t say anything at this time.” Unfortunately, this did not clear up the confusion surrounding Donkey Kong’s partner. Fans will have to wait until Mario Kart World launches or possibly beyond.

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Donkey Kong received a visual update to make him appear similar to how he did in the Super Mario Bros. movie, and Diddy Kong has also received a new look. DK’s new appearance is featured in both Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, so it would make sense for Diddy Kong to appear in both and also use this new design.

That said, Diddy Kong did not originally appear in Mario Kart 8 or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. He was added as part of the DLC and Nintendo may follow suit with Mario Kart World. Fans are understandably upset as Diddy Kong has been a base game character for many previous Mario Kart games. Only time will tell and while Nintendo has not published a full list of the characters in the game, fans will soon find out when Mario Kart World launches on June 5th.