Sega says it was somewhat expecting a new Mario Kart to be released with the Switch 2, but it also stresses that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds wasn't influenced by Mario Kart World at all.
There hasn't been a new, new Mario Kart since Mario Kart 8 came out in 2014, and likewise, it's been some six years since Team Sonic Racing launched in 2019, so it's a fairly rare coincidence that there's both a new Mario Kart and a new Sonic racing game releasing in 2025. Still, Sonic series producer Takashi Iizuka told Traxion that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' proximity to Mario Kart World is just that, a coincidence.
"Of course, we don't know the road map of Mario Kart titles," said Iizuka. "So, when it was announced, the dev team was surprised about it.
"However, typically when Nintendo releases new hardware, it's pretty common that they also release a new karting title. So, the dev team was somewhat expecting a new Mario Kart to be released soon."
Release timing aside, it's even more of a coincidence that Mario Kart World and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds both innovate on series formula with a fluidity between maps that manifests in open-world sections in the former and straight-up portals to other maps in the latter. They're different gimmicks, sure, but they both have a way of connecting different maps into more of a cohesive whole.
And yet, "Whether or not Mario Kart was going to be released, our goal was to develop the best kind of Sonic racing title. That hasn't changed – Mario Kart World won't have any influence."
CrossWorlds is getting a fair amount of buzz ahead of its launch on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch/Switch 2, and PC on September 25, with our own Ali Jones going hands-on and writing, "Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is filling the Mario Kart-shaped hole in my life that World isn't, and I'm as shocked by that as anyone."
Nintendo reportedly kept delaying Switch 2 because first-party devs wanted more time to perfect games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza
