🍌 Mario Kart World DLC, potentially Donkey Kong-themed, may be revealed at The Game Awards
🐵 Nintendo updated the Nintendo Today app with a Donkey Kong theme, fueling speculation
🐊 Dataminers link King K. Rool’s return (from Donkey Kong Bananza) to an upcoming Nintendo Today animation on December 15, four days after The Game Awards
🤔 Voice actors for King K. Rool and Void Kong were previously spotted in the Mario Kart World credits, suggesting they could be new characters
Mario Kart World DLC is something every fan of Nintendo’s chaotic racer would love to see – and we might not have to wait too much longer.
Players have believed that a Donkey Kong-themed update has been in the works for quite some time, especially as the titular ape only has one additional costume in Mario Kart World. That’s odd, considering Donkey Kong Bananza is a marquee Switch 2 game, but there are now more signs that point to additional content being released.
Nintendo recently updated its Nintendo Today app with a new Donkey Kong theme, and dataminers (via MarioWiki) have discovered some interesting coincidences that suggest a big announcement during The Game Awards later this month.
As those who have completed Donkey Kong Bananza will know (spoilers ahead), the game’s final boss features the return of King K. Rool. Naturally, Nintendo hasn’t mentioned the croc’s return in any of its social media or marketing materials, but that looks set to change on December 15.
The villain will be featured as an animation in the Nintendo Today app on December 15, which would be the first time Nintendo has publicly acknowledged the character’s return. The Game Awards takes place on December 11, which suggests Nintendo could drop a Mario Kart World DLC announcement that includes King K. Rool.
More evidence that King K. Rool could become a Mario Kart World character was also spotted previously (thanks, Mario subreddit). K. Rool’s voice actor Tsuguo Mogami can be found in the Mario Kart World credits, along with voice actor Yu Hayashi, who voices Void Kong.
Nintendo recently released another major update for Mario Kart World and has slowly been improving and tweaking the game based on fan feedback. Mario Kart World will undoubtedly be the best-selling Switch 2 game of all time, especially as it’s been bundled in with the console. It helps that retailers like Walmart and Amazon have been selling the bundle for $449, a $50 saving over the usual price, and means you’re getting Mario Kart World for free.
Some fresh content would certainly bring back players who may have dropped the game after launch, but we’ll have to wait and see whether Nintendo makes an announcement. It’s worth mentioning that Nintendo has revealed DLC for previous games during The Game Awards, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
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Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. He also runs a retro gaming YouTube channel called Game on, boy! Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.