Mario Kart 9 on Nintendo Switch 2 could have 24-player races, first time in series history

Nintendo reveals its next-generation Switch 2 handheld: Mario Kart 9 is a launch title, with a rumored 24-player mode... or maybe much, much more.

Mario Kart 9 on Nintendo Switch 2 could have 24-player races, first time in series history
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TL;DR: Nintendo announced the Switch 2 with Mario Kart 9 as its first game, potentially supporting up to 24 players, doubling the previous limit. The trailer shows wider tracks and smaller karts, exciting fans despite concerns over graphical quality. Rumors suggest possible NVIDIA DLSS upscaling for improved visuals.

Nintendo has finally announced its next-gen Switch 2 handheld, with its first confirmed game being Mario Kart 9... which looks to sport far more than the 12-player limit from the franchise, with a possible 24-player (or even more) on the way.

In the official Nintendo Switch 2 trailer posted to YouTube, the company shows off next-gen Mario Kart 9 gameplay with what appears to be 24 starting positions on the track. In previous Mario Kart games there have been just 12 starting tracks, leading us to believe Nintendo is pumping up to 24 players in Mario Kart 9.

Not only that, but the karts appear to be smaller and the track is rather wide... with rumors swirling that we could expect Mario Kart 9 to have monster battles with 24 players, it has Mario Kart fans very, very excited. The actual footage of Mario Kart 9 on the Nintendo Switch 2 isn't promising, where it appears there's no anti-aliasing being used... with rumors that we'd get NVIDIA DLSS upscaling, this is disappointing to say the least.

We could have a positive bait-and-switch move here from Nintendo, showing off its penultimate title -- Mario Kart 9 -- a huge upgrade with 24 players rumored, would be massive for the next-gen handheld. But showing it off like a somewhat blurry mess? Maybe we'll see the official Mario Kart 9 trailer with NVIDIA DLSS enabled, and full 24-player support... but the trailer definitely could've highlighted the graphical upgrades of one of Nintendo's most important IP.