There's been a lot of conversation about Nintendo making Mario Kart World its main launch title for the Switch 2 ahead of certain other key franchises.
Nintendo of America's Nate Bihldorff provided an official response about this to Inverse last month, mentioning how it's "one of the most broadly accessible games possible" with a high skill ceiling as well as an easy entry level for all ages.
Unsurprisingly, it's also clear from the ongoing sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the original Switch that there is "a lot of appetite for racing games" (or at least Mario Kart titles):
"Not only does Mario Kart 8 clearly demonstrate that there’s a lot of appetite for racing games, broadly speaking, because it sold very well over the course the entire Switch generation, but really, it comes back to that idea that this [Mario Kart] is a game that really is going to satisfy any kind of Nintendo gamer. Even somebody who isn’t a Nintendo gamer yet might be later. For that reason, it really matches perfectly with the [Switch 2] system.”
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the top-selling game on the Switch, shifting more than 68 million units as of March 2025.
Nintendo's Bill Trinen previously spoke about the Switch 2's launch window titles as well - noting how Nintendo hoped people could see Mario Kart World and the new Donkey Kong game as "sort of genre-defining and franchise-defining" moments "that really take advantage of the uniqueness" of the hardware.
This followed Nintendo coming under fire online after it revealed Mario Kart World would be priced at $80 on the Switch 2.