Kart World expands.
Nintendo's Mario Kart World update 1.7.0 delivers new routes and crucial gameplay balance changes.
Key Points
Players can see the Super Horn a rival is holding, adding visibility into opponents' held items and enabling strategic choices during races.
You can stop a slipstream by braking before the slipstream starts, altering how drafting and speed interactions work in races.
Time Trials ghosts that have encountered this issue may be removed from View Rankings without notice as part of the fix.
Players can hop immediately after being hit by Kamek’s magic or Bullet Bill, reducing downtime after such hits.
Nintendo shadowdropped a free Version 1.7.0 update for *Mario Kart World* on June 30, 2026, adding two new routes to the game's Knockout Tour mode. The patch brings the total number of available rallies to 10, with six more confirmed as planned for future updates, according to Nintendo.
The update also upgrades Photo Mode with sticker placement, overhauls vehicle balance, and adds Thai language support. *Mario Kart World* has sold 14.70 million copies since launching alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, 2025, making it the console's best-selling game, according to Gematsu.
Two New Knockout Tour Routes Now Playable
The two new routes are called Drill Rally and Boomerang Rally. Both unlock after a player clears at least one existing Knockout Tour rally, according to Nintendo. The Knockout Tour is a 24-player race where the lowest-ranked players are cut at five checkpoints — think battle royale, but with go-karts.
Before this update, the mode had only eight routes. Critics called that roster "very limited," according to Shacknews. Nintendo has not announced a paid DLC pass, keeping all route additions free so far. Six more routes are described as "in development."
Photo Mode Gets Stickers and Mouse Control Support
Version 1.7.0 lets players place stickers and frames on their in-game screenshots. Stickers are drawn from ones collected during play. The feature works with touch controls or by using a Joy-Con as a mouse on a flat surface — a unique feature of the Switch 2 hardware, according to The Sixth Axis.
Balance Changes Reward Skill and Shift Race Strategy
The patch makes several meaningful changes to how races play out. Slower vehicles now get better acceleration. Faster vehicles glide at higher speeds. Players can now see which rival is holding a Super Horn — letting others plan around it. You can also brake before a slipstream starts to cancel drafting entirely, according to Shacknews.
Two more changes cut downtime after getting hit. Players can hop immediately after being struck by Kamek's magic or a Bullet Bill. The time you get dashing after landing on a rival has doubled — from 1.08 seconds to 2.17 seconds — rewarding aggressive play, according to community testing reported on Newsy Today.
A New Ramp, a Bug Fix, and Thai Language Added
A new ramp connecting Airship Fortress to Bowser's Castle was added to the game's open world. Thai language support is now available in system settings, continuing Nintendo's push into Southeast Asian markets. The update also fixes a bug that caused incorrect finish times in Time Trials, according to El-Balad.
Nintendo warned that Time Trial ghosts affected by the finish-time bug "may be removed from View Rankings without notice." The company has not set a date for the next update, but with six routes still planned, ongoing free support for *Mario Kart World* appears set to continue well into late 2026, according to Nintendo.
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