Nintendo Fans Upset Over Mario Kart World Patch That Makes a Big Change to Online Play — 'Thanks, I Hate It'

Nintendo has updated Mario Kart World to change how the game handles online course selection, in a move that has gone against many fans' wishes and highlighted the mixed response to the game's open world overall.

Mario Kart World version 1.1.2 was released last night, and patch notes from Nintendo state that it has "adjusted courses selected in Random when selecting next course in a wireless VS Race."

While confusingly phrased, this change looks to be a deliberate move by Nintendo to nerf the game's Random course selection option when playing in VS mode — something many fans had been using to opt out of 'intermission tracks' whenever possible.

What is an intermission track? This fan term relates to the often long stretch of open world players must travel through to get from their current location to another nearby course, before playing just one lap of its track. It's these nearby courses that the game will usually suggest as options for the next race, meaning players typically must play an intermission track, alongside the Random option which alternatively picks a course from elsewhere.

Fans had been using the Random option to deliberately skip intermission tracks where possible, hoping instead to be transported to a far-away course where they are plonked at the starting line. In these cases, players are then given the classic three-lap Mario Kart course experience.

Now, with this change, Random also picks from the nearby courses the game suggests — meaning far-away courses are no longer guaranteed to appear, and intermission tracks are now more likely.

As a lengthy thread on forum Restera states, the change goes against how many players want to play Mario Kart World online, with the ability to consistantly play three laps of a course in VS mode, rather than only one lap after a long open-world drive through an intermission track.

Nintendo seems to have made this decision in response to player behavior as, anecdotally at least, use of the Random option seemed to be on the rise. And now, the patch is prompting a backlash.

"Nintendo has basically stepped in and said 'no, you're supposed to play this way,'" wrote fan GreenMamba. "They saw players clamoring for a more traditional online mode and did... the exact opposite of what they wanted."

The change will likely also make Mario Kart World's brilliant Rainbow Road track even rarer, the user noted. Perhaps World's best course, it is only accessible from the game's main open-world when selecting its specific Grand Prix, meaning fans hoping to play it online must rely on the Random choice option and hope it eventually gets picked.

"Good luck to ever even playing Rainbow Road online anymore," GreenMamba continued. "Thanks I hate it," wrote another fan. "Let people just play three-lap courses if they want to." "I get the impression that Nintendo isn't open to feedback on this," wrote a third.

Fans have suggested Nintendo should add a bespoke three-lap VS option for those who want it, alongside the game's current offering. Others say intermission tracks should be kept to the game's Knockout Tour mode entirely.

Mario Kart World's open world is not without its charms — it can be a relaxing place to cool off after heated races, and it holds a decent number of things to discover — but fans have consistently said its lengthy sections between main track locations just aren't as good.

"The highways aren't bad — in fact some of them can be very fun — but they're often extremely wide and straight, leading to long portions of each race that aren't as demanding or enjoyable as the twists and turns of the dedicated levels," IGN wrote in our Mario Kart World review.

For now, it seems users will be seeing more of these open highways in VS mode play — though it remains to be seen what Nintendo's wider plans are for Mario Kart World over time.

Check out our Mario Kart World guide and learn how to unlock every hidden Mario Kart World character, plus how Kamek Unlocks work — you’ll need them to unlock NPC Drivers. We’ve also got a guide to all the Mario Kart World food scattered across the open world and where to find it, which will help you get all the Mario Kart World outfits and costumes permanently.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social