Mario Kart 9: Full Character Roster List - Every Racer Confirmed So Far

Q: When will Mario Kart 9 launch?

Nintendo is hosting a Direct presentation on 2nd April 2025 in which it will likely reveal the launch date of the Switch 2. We're assuming Mario Kart 9 will be a launch title for the new system, but we can't say for certain just yet. As the only game featured in the Switch 2 reveal, though, we imagine it'll be coming at launch or soon after.

Every character in Switch 2 Mario Kart

by Ollie Reynolds Mon, 10:24am

Don't adjust your screen folks; a new Mario Kart game has indeed been confirmed for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.

'Mario Kart 9' (as we'll be referring to it until told otherwise) looks to be a nice refresh for the ludicrously popular kart racing franchise, potentially bringing the total number of participants per race up to 24, while hinting at much grander, open race courses.

The reveal trailer didn't show us much, but we've been able to spot quite a few returning favourites from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and beyond. We don't have any information yet on specific stats for each character, but below is a guide on every confirmed character for Mario Kart 9 so far.

Note. There are some characters from the trailer that we've not been able to make out at the time of writing. Two are completely obscured and cannot be identified, but the remaining two that we think are in the trailer are listed below the confirmed characters.

Mario Kart 9 Full Character List

1. Mario

2. Luigi

3. Peach

4. Donkey Kong

5. Bowser

6. Toad

7. Rosalina

8. Yoshi

9. Daisy

10. Koopa Troopa

11. Baby Mario

12. Baby Luigi

13. Pauline

14. Waluigi

15. Wario

16. Bowser Jr.

17. Birdo

18. Toadette

19. Baby Peach

20. Baby Daisy

Unconfirmed Mario Kart 9 Characters

There are a couple of characters here that we're pretty sure are present in the trailer, but we can't say with 100% certainty.

There may be a couple more that are completely unrecognisable at present, but these are the racers that we're 75% certain are there:

King Boo
Shy Guy
Baby Rosalina

FAQs

When will Mario Kart 9 launch?

Nintendo is hosting a Direct presentation on 2nd April 2025 in which it will likely reveal the launch date of the Switch 2.

We're assuming Mario Kart 9 will be a launch title for the new system, but we can't say for certain just yet. As the only game featured in the Switch 2 reveal, though, we imagine it'll be coming at launch or soon after.

Will characters from the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass appear?

Again, we're not sure. We'd guess that every character from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will show up, but whether they're included in the base game or will be available as additional DLC is unknown for the time being.

Why does Donkey Kong look so different?

Ah, you noticed huh? Yes, Donkey Kong has had a bit of a redesign for this new Mario Kart, seemingly taking some inspiration from his appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

It's more of a throwback to his 'retro' design, before Rare gave him a makeover for the Donkey Kong Country franchise.

So that's the full roster for Mario Kart 9 so far. Keep an eye out for more guides on the upcoming racer over the coming months as we inch toward its eventual release.

Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.

1
Citano
Fri, 6:02pm

Baby Rosalina also looks to be there in the trailer. Some also say Lakitu but abit hard to notice.
Another thing is that we have returning character sponsor signboards. A "Morton Construction" signboard is seen near Yoshi's Burger Stand and you can also spot a Nabbit signboard just as the console is placed in the Switch 2 dock.
Could indicate that all the koopalings plus Nabbit will be playable too.

2
PikminMarioKirby
Fri, 6:15pm

I think you missed Lakitu and Baby Rosalina

3
Joeynator3000
Fri, 6:21pm

I just thought of something, since some people couldn't tell who one racer was....what if they brought back ROB?

4
FlyingDunsparce
Fri, 9:48pm

King Bob-omb was also spotted

5
kalosn
Sat, 10:21am

I hope this game takes the best notes from Tour i.e the character roster, the character-exclusive items and all the vehicles it introduced of course. No live service needed, I guess...

6
Leu10antFalcon
Sat, 5:57pm

Why am I seeing Seth Rogen in a new Mario Kart game for Nintendo Switch 2?

7
WaxxyOne
Mon, 11pm

i don't actually know what I hate more: All of the hundreds of articles that have come out over the last 6 years supporting "rumors" and "leaks", 75%+ of which are now confirmed false (but of course no one will remember that and anybody who randomly got the release date right this time around will probably be hailed as some kind of soothsayer/genius going forward), or all the articles flooding out this week about all the "confirmed information" which is actually just the writer going frame by frame through the release teaser we all watched and picking out details. Articles like this reek of desperation. Why can't anybody be satisfied to wait until we get official word anymore? There's lots more to do outside of digging for every shred of "information" on an upcoming console, people. Get a (second) hobby.

Edit: i just noticed the "Mario Kart 9 Guide" link, which i'm not going to click on, and... Wow. i can only imagine the in-depth advice given within. "Mario Kart 9 (assuming that's the name) will likely be some kind of racing game with at least one track. Dirt is involved, and it comes in at least one shade of tan. It will probably slow you down if you drive off the pavement, we assume. There might be items but that's just a guess."

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