Mario Kart World was chosen instead of which planned numbered title?

Mario Kart World was chosen instead of the planned numbered title Mario Kart 9.

Nintendo used the name Mario Kart World to signal that the game was intended as a new approach rather than simply another numbered sequel. The developers wanted to expand the established racing formula with a connected open-world structure and a Free Roam mode.

This naming decision is easy to confuse with the game’s development history. Mario Kart World began as a project for the original Nintendo Switch, but its development later moved to Nintendo Switch 2 because the team struggled to optimize the open-world concept with 24 racers on the older hardware.

The title also reflects how the game connects races through routes across its world. Grand Prix events are not just four isolated course selections: racers drive between courses, making the setting itself part of the game’s identity.