The first look at Mario Kart 9 suggests that 24-person racing will be available for the Nintendo Switch 2 game
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The first look at Mario Kart 9 suggests that 24-person racing will be available for the Nintendo Switch 2 game

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

Nintendo has officially unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 and, in parallel, Mario Kart 9, which seems to confirm 24-person racing for the first time in the series’ history.

A short reveal trailer for the Nintendo Switch 2 focused primarily on the hardware, but also revealed the first confirmed game: Mario Kart 9. While Nintendo only gave a relatively tame look at the likely opening title and characters, something new has seemingly been confirmed.

The opening shots of the race showed a total of 24 starting positions on the track, double the previous games’ standard 12. And while this may just be an aesthetic choice, the final gameplay shots appear to feature at least 14 individual racers at once to show on the route.

Additionally, the track shown in the trailer looks overly wide, likely compensating for the increased number of racers (and chaos) Nintendo is putting in Mario Kart 9.

The company has made similar moves in the past while also making technological leaps, as its fighting game Super Smash Bros. for Wii U first introduced eight-person brawls, twice as many as possible in previous titles.

Fans are expected to get a closer look at Mario Kart 9 and its roster of racers during the Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Direct in April. Of course, the short trailer has already confirmed a few things about the new hardware, such as backwards compatibility features and the addition of a second USB-C port.

Most details, such as the other games and what the hell the mysterious new Joy-Con button does, have been left out, although the Joy-Con mouse theory has gained a bit of traction.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll be talking about The Witcher all day.