Mario Kart World Files Tease Cut Content, Drivers & New Modes

Files pulled from a hacked Switch 2 reveal characters and modes Nintendo planned at some point in development.

Mario Kart World might be closer to getting DLC than you'd expect. Recently surfaced files suggest new characters could be on the way, along with extra modes and features, or at least content that was cut or scrapped at some point during development.

The Switch 2 was hacked not long ago, giving people access to a huge batch of assets, including game code, models, and a range of leaked material. Among the findings are data files that reveal characters and modes that were planned for Mario Kart World at some stage. To be clear, these entries are part of the game's current code.

Whether or not they show up for you in the near future, Nintendo considered them while building the game. The details come from an insider on social media, who explained that another data miner found eight more possible scrapped drivers inside a file connected to character weight stats.

The list includes Thwomp, Blooper, Ninji, a pair of Goombas that presumably point to a Goomba Tower, Chain Chomp, Fuzzy, a bird, and a banana. It looks like Nintendo planned to offer more NPC drivers, or maybe still intends to in a later update.

Some of the picks make a lot of sense, such as Ninji and Fuzzy. Thwomp would be a cool, unique addition as well, and there is precedent since it appeared in Moped Mayhem in Mario Party 8. Other entries are harder to figure out. You might not see the need for a Goomba Tower, but it could be there because taller characters like Pokey and Conndor are already in the game, letting the developers reuse that skeleton and frame.

Some characters may also be too massive to work as racers.

Chain Chomp seems unwieldy, and you could say the same about Thwomp. A few of the discovered entries are actual items, which used to look like off-limits territory. A banana peel driving a kart sounds absurd. Blooper, on the other hand, would be a great addition, and it's a shame it was left out of the base roster.

Then there's the entry that reads bird, which is hilarious. That one would make some sense, because the only wildlife racer you can pick right now is the Cow. You could point to Cheep Cheeps or the dolphins, but the Cow was never an enemy or an obstacle.

Either way, it's an unusual roster to have leaked. Driving as a banana peel would be funny, but it also suggests items aren't off the table. You already know regular enemies are fair game, since Cataquacks, Chargin' Chucks, and Hammer Bros. all show up as playable drivers in Mario Kart World. 

Spiny was another name that came up, and real files, including UI elements, animations, poses, and models, indicate these ideas were genuinely planned in the codebase. It would be a surprise if some of them didn't arrive in a future update.

Because the Switch 2 was only just breached, more details will likely come out over the next few weeks and months.

Beyond the character references, other unreleased or planned elements turned up in the RomFS of Mario Kart World, some of which could point to future DLC. The first is a missing slot, number 2305, which sits between 150cc and Mirror Mode and strongly hints at 200cc.

The CPU settings also mention a Super Hard tier, which seems to be used for especially tough CPU slots in Grand Prix, such as Donkey Kong, Daisy, or Rosalina. There is also a file for a Free Run mode on Rainbow Road. The exact file name isn't specified, but its existence suggests a free-roaming option on Rainbow Road that you can't access in the game right now.

Pauline and Donkey Kong also have unused character select poses, which most likely point to alternate costumes. That makes sense, since alternate outfits usually come with their own select-screen poses. Donkey Kong and Pauline are the only non-NPC characters with a single costume, so an upcoming event could be in the works, possibly themed around Donkey Kong Bananza. 

Finally, the Battle Course selection screen has four unused slots. Raw code screenshots aren't included here. If you want to see the sources, you can find them on social media, though Nintendo is actively taking down leaked material. Even so, a significant amount of content appears to have been planned, or is still in the pipeline, for Mario Kart World after the Switch 2 breach.

Adding NPC drivers would be the easiest way for Nintendo to expand the roster.

What was planned gives you a sense of the strategy. Any future additions are far more likely to be assets that already exist in the world of Mario Kart World than figures brought in from outside franchises, which mirrors how Moped Mayhem built its lineup from odd, familiar faces.

Going through the enemies, obstacles, and creatures already in the game, several potential contenders stand out. Mario Land enemies such as Batadon and Tokotoko could work, and so could Bob-ombs, Bombs, or Bullet Bills. Boom Boom, Brammers, Bullies, and Chill Bullies are in the game too, along with Charvaarghs in lava or sand variants, Cheep Chomps, and Porcupuffers.

Fire Snakes, Lava Bubbles, and Freezies are options as well, as are Boomerang Bros., Fire Bros., and Ice Bros. There are also enemy variants, like Snow Pokeys alongside standard Pokeys, plus Hermit Stones, Jellybeams, Skeeters, Sumo Bros., Tyfoos and Whomps.

Many of these make sense proportionally, and several would fit the heavyweight class, like Boom Boom, Bullies, Cheep Chomps and Porcupuffers. Others, like Skeeters, Jellybeams,s or Hermit Stones, would fit the smaller weight classes, and Blooper would slot in nicely with those lighter NPC drivers too.

Playing as a Lava Bubble would simply be fun, and having unconventional minor enemies as playable drivers is part of the charm.

Beyond enemies, the game features plenty of creatures that could be adapted, including armadillos, buffalo, butterflies, camels, crocodiles, moose, ostriches, jar snakes, zebras, eagles, seagulls and Lumas. There are practical limits, since giraffes, elephants, or massive dinosaurs are unlikely to pilot karts, but Nintendo has an extensive library of in-game models to draw from.

Many of these creatures also have existing variations that could serve as alternate costumes, much like the Hammer Bro variants. Most of what's in these files looks better suited to standard title updates than to major paid expansions. Paid DLC would likely consist of completely unrevealed content that Nintendo wouldn't leave sitting in current launch builds.

Something like 200cc, the Rainbow Road Free Run mode, or a costume event tied to Donkey Kong Bananza could land as a free update rather than DLC. Before Mario Kart World reaches version 2.0, it could easily roll out several of these features. The reference to 200cc is particularly exciting.

It feels inevitable, and a speed boost of that scale would significantly alter track pacing, potentially making intermission sections feel far more dynamic. In Mario Kart 8, 200cc arrived later as a free post-launch update, so Nintendo may be spacing out major mode releases on purpose to keep you engaged over the coming year.

A banana peel racer would certainly rival the iron checkpoint crate in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled for unusual roster choices.

The current design direction feels a lot like Moped Mayhem from Mario Party 8, which featured 30 racers, compared with the 24 standard slots in Mario Kart World, including oddities like Thwomp, Bob-omb and Bandit. Seeing similar characters surface in Mario Kart World makes that influence clear.

Finally, Mario Kart World credits voice actors for King K. Rool and Void Kong. They could simply be voicing unrelated incidental characters. Still, it's's entirely possible that King K. Rool and Void Kong are planned additions, which would also explain why Donkey Kong and Pauline haven't received additional outfits yet. A crossover tied to Donkey Kong Bananza remains a distinct possibility.