Which Nintendo division officially began developing Mario Kart World at the end of 2017?

Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development officially began developing Mario Kart World at the end of 2017. The division is commonly abbreviated as Nintendo EPD.

Nintendo had already started prototyping the project in March 2017, shortly before Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was released. The later 2017 milestone marks the point when official development began, making it different from the earlier prototype phase.

Producer Kosuke Yabuki wanted the new game to move beyond the established Mario Kart formula. The team explored open-world elements because it believed the traditional racing structure had already been perfected in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Development initially targeted the original Nintendo Switch. In 2020, the project moved to Nintendo Switch 2 after the team encountered difficulties optimizing an open-world racer with 24 players on the older hardware.