Mario Kart World Nintendo Direct live — start time, how to watch, runtime and what we expect from the Switch 2 blockbuster
Let's-a-go
Mario Kart World is the headline launch game for the Nintendo Switch 2 and the company is hosting a dedicated Nintendo Direct later today all about the next title in the epic kart racing franchise.
Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders bundled with Mario Kart World are already selling out — so the anticipation for this game is through the roof. We first caught a glimpse of it way back in January when the console was first teased and I managed to get some hands-on time with it myself earlier this month.
Still, there's plenty we don't know about this game — which looks to be the biggest shake-up to the Mario Kart formula in a long time. There's going to be open-world driving, more characters than ever before and the integration of new Switch 2 features like GameChat.
Today's Direct will hopefully answer plenty of questions about Mario Kart World and we'll be following all the announcements as they come right here.
What time does the Direct start?
Today's Nintendo Direct will kick off at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm BST / 3pm CEST / 11pm AET.
You can watch the whole thing on Nintendo's YouTube channel but don't worry as you'll be able to watch it right here once it starts.
Nintendo Mario Kart Direct — watch it here
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My thoughts on Mario Kart World
Earlier this month, Nintendo let a select group of media and influencer types get hands-on with the Nintendo Switch 2 at an event in London. All told, I had about 20 minutes playing a Mario Kart World demo in both handheld and docked mode.
I came away mostly impressed with the fact it's still clearly a Mario Kart game, but bigger and better in almost every way. What was particularly noticeable was how the tracks weave their way through an even greater range of locations with weather changes occurring as you race. So you might find yourself blazing through a desert environment before coming across a bazaar full of market stalls as the rain begins to pour down.
Just don't expect the kart's handling to change dynamically along with the weather. This isn't Gran Turismo we're talking about...
"Drop the price!"
If there's one thing we can be sure of for today's Direct, it's that the live comments section will be enflamed by people demanding Nintendo lowers the price. Expect a waterfall of "Drop the price!" calls to accompany the video.
The Japanese gaming company has caused something of a stir by confirming that Mario Kart World will retail separately for £74/$80 when it launches. You can get it for less than that if you buy it as part of a Nintendo Switch 2 console — but it's still a new high in terms of video game pricing.
Plenty of analysts have suggested this will open the floodgates to other publishers pricing their games even higher. That rumor about GTA 6 possibly costing $100 doesn't seem so crazy now, does it?
A 15-minute Nintendo Direct
Today's Direct is set for a runtime of around 15 minutes according to Nintendo's own estimations. That's quite a decent amount of time to devote to just one game and it'll be interesting to see what Nintendo chooses to focus on.
Join us on April 17th at 6 a.m. PT to learn more about #MarioKartWorld for #NintendoSwitch2 in the Mario Kart World Direct. The livestream will be roughly 15 minutes. #NintendoDirect Watch it here: https://t.co/YtvEgjWKyx pic.twitter.com/3MistrmyOhApril 16, 2025
The company could probably spend a decent amount of time just focusing on the sheer number of characters included this time around. But personally, I'm hoping to hear more about Free Roam mode. We've only seen a tiny bit of it in action so far, so I'd like to know exactly how this is going to work in practice.
Welcome!
Mario Kart World is going to be big. Really big. The last entry in the series, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, was the best-selling game on the Switch 1. As I'm reliably told by Wikipedia, it shifted 67.35 million copies as of December 31, 2024.
So there's obviously going to be a lot of interest in Mario Kart World and I'm here for all the build-up to today's event.
