// KOTAKU — GAMING
Mario Kart World Just Made A Surprisingly Cool Tweak To Items One Year Later
The Switch 2’s big launch title, Mario Kart World, has sure shifted a lot of copies and consoles. In March 2026 Nintendo revealed the game had sold an extraordinary 14.7 million copies in its first nine months, so you’d imagine the Switch 2 company would be hearing the clamor and regularly updating the game with new tracks. Except, extraordinarily, despite some very welcome updates and patches, in its first year not a single new track has been added, and it’s only now in July 2026 that the game has added a couple more Knockout Tour rally routes. But an even more intriguing aspect of the newly released version 1.7.0 is that players are reporting getting far better power-ups when driving in first place. For the first 20 seconds of a race, anyway.
It’s long been the case that when you’re first in Mario Kart, you’re penalized with only the crappiest power-ups. Your pick-ups usually turn out to be either coins or bananas, and while the latter still offers some sabotaging fun, it’s a very limited toolset for maintaining your lead. That’s understandable, too—the series has always featured the most slanted item distribution imaginable, giving those at the rear of the pack incredible power-ups to ensure everyone playing has a chance of catching up to the lead, thus keeping races interesting and fun. But since last night’s update, people are taking to the internet in shock or delight as they find that for the opening 20 seconds of races, even folks in first place are picking up items like Triple Mushrooms and the invincibility-giving Boo.
Ok I was testing what changed in Mario kart world 1.7.0 update and did I just pull a boo and triple mushrooms in 1st place the hell ??? pic.twitter.com/ukrYMiUaqa
This adds a whole new dynamic to the early stage of the race, allowing players who get a good start out the gates to take further advantage of an early lead, rather than being immediately bombarded by those playing catch-up. It’s not long-lasting, and pretty soon you’ll be back down to hoping for some Green Shells at best, while everyone behind you can begin bombarding you with Lightning, Bullet Bill, and Blooper’s infuriating inky splatters. Notably, this tweak is not mentioned in Nintendo’s patch notes.
The biggest change with the item system in Mario Kart World's 1.7.0 update is that for the first 20 seconds, everyone pulls mid pack items, minus most attack items. For example, 1st place pulls 5th/12 or 24 player items, allowing Triple Mushrooms & Boos! Running got a HUGE buff! pic.twitter.com/Gi2hqFINaU
Patch 1.7.0 also adds the very first new routes to Mario Kart World, a couple of new rallies running between race locations for the Knockout Tour. There’s Drill Rally, which runs between Wario Shipyard and Bowser’s Castle, and Boomerang Rally, which goes from Salty Salty Speedway to Whistlestop Summit. That’s very welcome, but it’s still extremely bizarre that we haven’t seen even one new quartet of tracks added in a whole year, given the franchise’s usual propensity for regularly dropping in new versions of classic tracks from the series’ history.
The patch also adds in a bunch of tweaks, boosting low-acceleration characters and vehicles and improving gliding speeds, and there’s a new ramp on the Airship Fortress to Bowser’s Castle race route. The other larger update is an option to add stickers in Photo Mode, if that’s your bag.
However, for those hoping for news on a more significant update, Nintendo is certainly keeping mum. The only future detail is a promise of “additional Knockout Tour routes” planned for future updates. Here’s the full details of what’s in version 1.7.0:
Don’t miss the latest reviews, news and tips. Sign up for our free newsletter.
There is also confusion over whether Nintendo is avoiding the mention of unions