#Nintendo

Mario Kart World, the flagship launch title for Nintendo’s new Switch 2 console, hit stores on June 5, 2025, promising to revolutionize the kart racer with its expansive Free Roam mode and 24-player races. When Nintendo unveiled Mario Kart World during an April Direct, the Free Roam mode was billed as a sandbox playground where racers could explore diverse zones, from sunny beaches to icy peaks, discovering hidden challenges and joining friends online. Splitting that workload across two simultaneous screens on the same console could introduce performance dips or compromise frame rates, something Nintendo wants to avoid, especially for a launch title designed to showcase the system’s 4K output and smooth 60fps gameplay. That’s a letdown.” Others speculate Nintendo might eventually add splitscreen via a post-launch update—after all, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe received new courses and features long after release—but there’s been no official confirmation. Instead, Nintendo has hinted that Free Roam will see fresh content drops, like additional challenges, new zones, and seasonal events, but stops short of addressing local co-op. Nintendo’s focus on delivering a stable, visually appealing open world likely guided this choice—but a chunk of the community still hopes for a future patch that stitches back in that beloved couch co-op pastime. Read more in our articles including "Mario Kart World Free Roam Lacks Local Co-op" and "Nintendo Hits $100 Billion Market Cap Milestone for First Time".