What is Mario Kart 9’s New Twist?

We may have only seen 17 or so seconds of the new Mario Kart in the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal trailer, but that isn’t going to stop me from digging deep down the rabbit hole and over-analysing each and every frame of it. There are plenty of familiar vehicles and faces, but also a new track and some interesting details to get stuck into.

Rumoured to have started development back in 2022 and designed “with a new twist”, fans finally have some new Mario Kart footage to look at in the hope that it backs up their wild theories on what that twist might be – and you can count me among them. So, please indulge me as I present the three twists that are foremost taking up the theory-crafting part of my brain, and watch as I try to decipher what’s next for the karting king and his little red hat.

Open World Mario Kart

The most prominent theory posed by the community so far is that this may be the Mario Kart entry that finally takes the series “open world”. We’ve had Super Mario World, after all, so why not Mario Kart World? But is this just people’s hopes and dreams projecting what they want to see onto this teaser? Well, maybe. But there are a few details that point to this being a possibility.

The starting line reveals the location to be “Mario Bros. Circuit”, but could this be a misdirection? Rather than an actual race track, this area could instead be part of a hub world where 24 racers (double the number seen in Mario Kart 8, incidentally) can pull up to the starting line. The reason I say this is because there are, intriguingly, zero item boxes in sight during this (admittedly small) slice of gameplay. It would be a stretch to think that items and weapons have been removed from Mario Kart completely, so maybe what we’re seeing here isn’t an official race setting, but instead drivers speeding through a lobby-like open world.

What we do see, though, is a glowing yellow object underneath the giant burger of Yoshi’s drive-thru. I’m presuming this isn’t a traditional item box as it would be against well-established tradition for just one item to be available for everyone racing by, so what could it be? There’s been the suggestion that it could be a fuel pickup, and that buildings like this and Fire Flower Gas Station (seen at the starting line) could act as pit stops that refill a manual speed boost, or perhaps repairs damage (if that’s an element added to this entry.) Think of something not too dissimilar to how driving through a garage in Burnout Paradise automatically fixes your car.

The fuel theory is further supported by a closer look at Mario’s kart. At first glance, it’s an evolution of his standard kart, but zoom in on the side, and you’ll find a “1-Up Fuel” logo. This may point to the addition of a fuel tank that houses some manual speed boost juice, or perhaps just greater car customisation in general. That customisation in and of itself would work with an open-world design, as you could hunt around a large hub in search of unlockables, collectibles, and upgrades to your ever-expanding garage of vehicles. It’s something the Forza Horizon series does fantastically with its barn find missions. Would I love to roam the Mushroom Kingdom in search of a hidden vintage Toad wagon? Yes. Yes, I would.

And, perhaps most tenuously of all, could that final camera zoom out at the end of the gameplay, which reveals a vast desert setting, be hinting at an open world to explore? The road certainly seems to be stretching off into the horizon with no tight turn onto itself in sight. There’s no suggestion at all that this is a closed-loop circuit.

Off-Roading Mario Kart

Of course, all of that desert could instead be pointing toward circuits including a variety of off-road sections, rather than races predominantly taking place on narrow tracks. This is further supported by a few other details that can be spotted in the gameplay. In the final shot, to the left of the track, we see a lack of barriers to keep players on the road, as well as a conspicuously placed ramp ready for someone to leap off of – such a pathway would naturally encourage drivers to take the off-road route, rally style.

Earlier in the teaser we also see that Rosalina is returning for another round of Mario Kart, having been ever-present since her introduction in Mario Kart Wii. More interesting, though, is her vehicle of choice, which appears to be a version of the Snow Skimmer from Mario Kart Tour. This snowmobile-like kart is equipped with skis on its front axle and would be the perfect vehicle to tackle snowy conditions (obviously), but also sandy dunes. Could this Mario Bros. Circuit take us further off the beaten path later on in its laps, making off-road kart customisation and preparation vital this time around?

Bowser’s also got some meaty ol’ tires on his kart, but that’s something he’d do anyway, so maybe I really am reading far too much into it here. But you’re reading it, so who’s really the one losing their mind?

Super Mario Bros. 40th Anniversary Celebration Mario Kart

A lot of us looked into the haunted eyes of Donkey Kong in the Mario Kart 9 teaser and wondered what had happened to the big monkey man. Is this redesign simply a move to align his look with that seen in the recent Super Mario Bros movie? It’s admittedly blurry once zoomed in, so is this in fact a more retro-leaning style that points to an aspect of this new Mario Kart that’s aiming to celebrate Nintendo, and maybe more specifically, Mario’s history? 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the original Super Mario Bros., so could Nintendo be using this new MK as an opportunity to mark it?

It’s admittedly a stretch, but with no Link from The Legend of Zelda or Animal Crossing villagers in sight so far, perhaps the focus is purely on Mario and the legacy cast of characters from his games. The fact that the track is named “Mario Bros. Circuit”, and the cactus-littered desert setting reminding me of World 6-1 from Super Mario Bros. 2, certainly backs that up a little bit. There’s even a glowing sign displaying the words Shine Sprite – the collectible from Super Mario Sunshine.

Tracks based on different Mario games would definitely be cool. The one seen here is clearly American-set, not only because they’re driving on the right-hand side of the road, but due to its general aesthetic. Who wants to bet that highway leads to New Donk City from Super Mario Odyssey? I’m probably wrong, but it would be a lovely way to celebrate a little plumber’s birthday, wouldn’t it?

What do you think the new Mario Kart game twist will be? Have I lost the plot after watching the same looping 17 seconds of gameplay for too long? Let us know in the comments below.