'Mario Kart X' Is Reportedly One of the Most Expensive Games Nintendo Has Ever Made

According to a new report, the next Mario Kart game is in development at Nintendo, is called Mario Kart X, and is one of the most expensive games Nintendo has ever made. When you think of kart racers, you don't think of big budgets, but Mario Kart 8 on Wii U and then Nintendo Switch, is the best-selling game Nintendo has ever made. Between its original release and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it's outsold every other Mario game to date, every Zelda game to date, and every other Nintendo-made game to date. It's outsold them all, so while kart racers are not known for having big budgets, it makes sense Nintendo sees the next Mario Kart as worth a substantial investment. 

The report comes the way of Zippo, a fairly well-known Nintendo insider and leaker, who claims the game is being once again worked on by internal Nintendo team Nintendo EPD Production Group 9, with Bandai Namco Studios set to serve as a co-developer also like the previous outing for the series. 

"Additionally, Nintendo are sparring absolutely no expense with this game," adds Zippo. "This is apparently one of the most expensive games Nintendo has ever put into production. The next 3D Mario title is said to be "absolutely dropping" and this apparently looks even better. The game's visual fidelity is said to be a very high priority for them, meaning the game is gonna look good, damn good." 

The game is supposedly set to release in 2025 via the rumored, but still unofficial Nintendo Switch successor, tentatively dubbed the Nintendo Switch 2 by many. If this is true, there's a good chance it could be revealed next year. Whatever the case, Nintendo will want to get it out fairly close to the launch of the console as it's going to be a huge system seller.

All of that said, take everything here with a grain of salt. This is all unofficial information, and even if it's all, or even mostly accurate, it's still subject to change over time. In other words, it could be accurate right now, but this doesn't mean this will remain true over time. So far, it's not drawn any type of comment from Nintendo. If this changes, we will update the story accordingly.