Mario Kart World - Every Character, Course, and Item So Far

A new Mario Kart is headed to the Nintendo Switch 2! As such, we’re breaking down every playable character, course, and item we’ve seen so far.

Mario Kart World breaks boundaries with open world gameplay through a free roam mode that lets you drive freely from track to track. Dozens of brand new characters can be seen in the standard 24-player races, and alternate outfits from Mario Kart Tour are back. Check out rail grinding, a new Knockout Tour mode, a plenty more when the game launches alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, 2025.

Jump to each section:

Characters
Courses
Items

Latest Updates

April 17: New images for characters and courses added from the Mario Kart World Direct. Battle courses added, as well as a few items updates.

April 4: All 30 known tracks added! Included a world map with track names as well. Items have all their images too.

List of Characters So Far

A total of 50 playable characters have been spotted in Mario Kart World so far. For comparison, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had a total of 48 playable characters, and that included DLC.

Returning Characters

30 characters return from throughout the series, including Mario Kart Tour. Notable absences include Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, Petey Piranha, Miis, and all seven Koopalings. Kamek seems to be tied to an item this time around. It’s possible characters like Dry Bowser and Metal Mario will be included as alternate outfits.

Mario

Luigi

Peach

Yoshi

Toad

Bowser

Koopa Troopa

Donkey Kong

Wario

Daisy

Waluigi

Birdo

Bowser Jr.

Toadette

King Boo

Dry Bones

Rosalina

Baby Mario

Baby Luigi

Baby Peach

Baby Daisy

Baby Rosalina

Shy Guy

Lakitu

Wiggler

Pauline

Hammer Bro.

Chargin’ Chuck

Monty Mole

Nabbit

New Characters

20 brand new characters make their Mario Kart debut in Mario Kart World. No word if this is the final number. A very interesting selection this around! It probably won’t shock you to learn that most of these characters have not been playable in any game to date.

Goomba

Cow

Pianta

Spike

Pokey

Rocky Wrench

Penguin

Dolphin

Snowman

Cataquack

Peepa

Para-Biddybud

Sidestepper

Fish Bone

Swoop

Stingby

Piranha Plant

Cheep Cheep

Coin Coffer

Conkdor

List of Courses So Far

A total of 30 courses have been spotted, and there’s a good chance that’s the final number. Crown City and Peach Stadium are both listed twice in separate cups, bringing the total number of Grand Prix races to the standard 32 tracks. So far seven cups have been revealed, although it’s likely the Special Cup is unlocked after completing all other seven cups.

It’s unlikely that Rainbow Road’s name would change, but we’re leaving it with a question mark just to be on the safe side.

Retro tracks are in an interesting place in Mario Kart World as many of them have very stark and unrecognizable differences. Given the many variations and free roam gameplay, this actually makes a lot of sense. Not only that, but it seems additional extra tracks are dropped within the world without getting directly named or called out. Vanilla Lake from Super Mario Kart is a great example as it rests on the route between Sky-High Sundae and Wario Shipyard.

Mushroom Cup

Mario Bros. Circuit

Crown City

Whistlestop Summit

DK Spaceport

Flower Cup

Desert Hills (DS)

Shy Guy Bazaar (3DS)

Wario Stadium (N64)

Airship Fortress (DS)

Star Cup

DK Pass (DS)

Starview Peak

Sky-High Sundae (Tour)

Wario Shipyard (3DS)

Shell Cup

Koopa Troopa Beach (SNES)

Faraway Oasis

Crown City

Peach Stadium

Banana Cup

Peach Beach (GCN)

Salty Salty Speedway

Dino Dino Jungle (GCN)

Great ? Block Ruins

Leaf Cup

Cheep Cheep Falls

Dandelion Depths

Boo Cinema

Dry Bones Burnout

Lightning Cup

Moo Moo Meadows (Wii)

Choco Mountain (N64)

Toad’s Factory (Wii)

Bowser’s Castle

??? Cup

Acorn Heights

Mario Circuit (SNES)

Peach Stadium

Rainbow Road?

Battle Courses

Like the rest of the traditional tracks, battle courses live within the game world. Similar to the original Mario Kart 8, several battle courses take place within normal racetracks, although Mario Kart World’s more open design offers better options for the more frantic and enclosed nature of a battle course. Here are the battle courses we have seen so far, but do take note that these names are not official.

Big Donut (N64)

DK Pass

Moo Moo Meadows

Peach Stadium

Salty Salty Speedway

Dino Dino Jungle

List of Items So Far

Most items from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe return, with the Piranha Plant and the Crazy Eight notably absent. The Piranha Plant is now a playable character, and it’s possible the Crazy Eight or an equivalent item could still pop up. It’s supposed to be rare. The Feather was previously a battle exclusive item, but it can now be used in all the revealed modes so far.

The Mega Mushroom from Mario Kart Wii returns! The Ice Flower, the Coin Box, and the Hammer return from Mario Kart Tour too. Rather than shoot out coins continuously in front of you, the Coin Box gives you a coin for every hit, all while leaving a trail of coins behind you for other players to pick up. The Ice Flower allows you to shoot out several ice balls to freeze opponents and send them flying, and the Hammer is a projectile attack that drops a trail of hammers in the direction you throw.

Beyond that, three other new items enter the mix. When used, the Coin Shell launches forward in the middle of the track leaving behind a trail of coins. The aptly named Kamek item summons Kamek when used. So far we’ve seen Kamek transform other racers into enemies for a short period of time. The Kamek item is seemingly an option to unlock additional playable characters. And finally, slamming through the yellow glowing bags will get you Dash Food. Using it transforms your outfit and unlocks it for future use. You also get a slight speed boost!