Mario Kart World players have a compelling theory about future DLC

Mario Kart World boasted many new exciting features when it was released alongside the Switch 2 on June 5, including a massive main roster totaling 50 playable characters. Of these, 24 are main characters and 26 are detailed as NPC racers, with main characters having access to a slew of quirky, cute, and badass outfits, while NPCs do not. However, not all of the main characters have an equal number of outfits available to them, which has caused a stir in the Mario Kart World community.

Two Nintendo mainstays have the lowest number of outfits in the game, with Donkey Kong and Pauline only having one (1) unlockable outfit each. Naturally, this led to the Mario Kart World community wondering why DK wouldn’t get the royal treatment like other main characters, with some players even throwing the Mushroom Kingdom babies under the kart for having more outfits than him.

“Am I wrong, or does Donkey Kong have only 1 costume to Baby Rosalina at least 4?” someone questioned on X.

“DK only has two costumes???????? This shit is unplayable I want my money back,” another person joked.

“I don’t intend to play as Donkey Kong in the new Mario Kart, but it’s kinda weird that they only gave him one unlockable costume,” another post reads. “Other characters like Pauline or Shy Guy only get one or two outfits as well, but they deserve more. I hope there will be free DLC to amend this.”

Some Mario Kart World  players have even gone as far as hypothesizing that Donkey Kong and Pauline were given one outfit each because a huge expansion is planned to coincide with Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza in July.

A version of this theory was located on Reddit, where users gathered clues that pointed to an inevitable DLC expansion. The information mentioned Diddy Kong’s absence from the roster (which Mario Kart World producer Kosuke Yabuki had previously addressed, stating that he “can’t say anything at this time”), the lack of focus on Donkey Kong’s main franchise games outside of the arcade game including music, and DK only having one outfit. (Other Kongs, like Funky and Dixie, who have appeared in previous Mario Kart games, are also nowhere to be seen in World.)

And while it may be easy to write off the theory as nothing more than fans already begging for more Mario Kart World content, previously leaked Donkey Kong Bananza information could support the existence of DLC.

In April, Nintendo Korea accidentally leaked an image for Donkey Kong Bananza‘s box art on its website, showing the new character Odd Rock replaced by a presumably younger Pauline holding on to Kong’s necktie. A visibly younger Pauline is seen wearing a purple bracelet that matches Odd Rock’s material, which could imply that she can either summon the creature or transform into it. Speculation aside, it’s clear that Pauline will be a main character in Bananza in some capacity. We just don’t know how.

And so far, Nintendo hasn’t shared much information on the upcoming DK adventure. The company hasn’t explicitly detailed why Donkey Kong and Pauline have only one outfit in Mario Kart World either. So, maybe fans are on to something and we’ll get Mario Kart World DLC  that shows more love to these two Nintendo icons while simultaneously connecting it directly to Bananza.

If you think about it, doesn’t it make sense to have every MKW fan using and showing off DK and Pauline’s numerous new outfits in a raucous 24-player Knockout Tour race online the week Nintendo releases Bananza? I’m no business major, but it sounds like marketing 101 to me! Regardless, only time will tell.

Besides, Nintendo’s already doing something like this. Nintendo often uses Tetris 99’s Maximus Cup events to promote new releases, the most recent of which was an in-game promotional event for the launch of Xenoblades Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Could Mario Kart World be utilized in a similar way? 

Nintendo will release Donkey Kong Bananza on July 17 for the Nintendo Switch 2. Mario Kart World is available now on Switch 2.