Mario Kart World Gets First Free Update of 2026, Including Huge Multiplayer Changes

Mario Kart World really is a lot of fun to play and it's arguably the best couch co-op game around. So much so that I played it this weekend at my sister's, where I'm fairly sure they have some kind of cheating system setup, though I can't prove it.

As a multiplayer-first release, Nintendo has a big job on their hands to keep everything ticking over nicely, from giving players new things to do to keeping everything balanced so the meta remains as varied as possible.

In the six-ish months since the game's release, the developer has put in some sterling work to make all of that a reality, but the job never stops and 2026 is set to be just as active a year for the team behind the game.

Now, we have confirmation of exactly what the first update of the year is going to look like, and there's plenty of changes to be aware of if you are a regular player online.

Mario Kart World Update Ver. 1.5.0 Now Available to Download

Nintendo

As detailed on the official Nintendo website, Mario Kart World's 1.5.0 update is now live and, whilst it isn't the biggest update we have seen so far, there are a couple of general changes that should make a tangible difference.

The first is that team races have been added to Knockout Tour when playing in the same room during Online Play and Wireless Play. This is a big win for couch co-op fans who want to see how they and their friends stack up to the wider world of multiplayer foes.

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Equally, players in Poland can rejoice, as the game now supports Polish as one of its native languages, in a change that everyone can agree is a good thing for all the players based over there.

Outside of that, there are some other fixes, with the full list of changes for the update as follows:

General

• Added team races to Knockout Tour when playing in a room during “Online Play” and “Wireless Play”.
• The game now supports the Polish language.
• Note: You can change your selected language using the “Language” setting in the “System” menu of “System Settings.”

Fixed Issues

• Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes end if a player plays as Kamek on Choco Mountain.
• Fixed an issue where the displayed rating would sometimes be incorrect when joining “Everyone” in “Online Play” while in a room.
• Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

To get the update downloaded, connect to the internet and hover over the Mario Kart World icon on the homepage, before pressing the + button.

From there, select "Software Update" followed by "Over the Internet" and you should be good to go.