Nintendo makes surprising character omission from ‘Mario Kart World’

Mario Kart World has more characters than any other game in the series. But there is one glaring omission that has caught everyone by surprise. So far in trailers, we haven’t seen him, and players are wondering if he is in the final game.

• READ MORE: ‘Mario Kart World’ is a supercharged reinvention of the ultimate party game

That character is Diddy Kong.

Unfortunately, Diddy Kong is not in Mario Kart World. His absence is particularly strange as he is considered one of the main Mario universe characters, and he appeared in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch as DLC. While he has appeared in other recent games, he hasn’t been in all of them. For example, he wasn’t in Mario Kart DS or a lot of the older games. In fact, he was first introduced in Double Dash and didn’t return until Mario Kart Wii.

So, why isn’t he here? Well, there are two possible options. There could be plans to introduce him as a part of DLC, either around the release of Donkey Kong Banaza in July or the Mario movie sequel, which releases in Spring 2026. Alternatively, he could have just not been planned at all. If that is the case, hope isn’t lost as we expect Mario Kart World to be supported with DLC for a long time, and his inclusion in that DLC is likely compared to some of the other characters that aren’t here.

We will keep this article updated with the latest Diddy Kong news as and when we hear it, but right now, you are just going to have to choose Donkey Kong in Mario Kart World.

For even more on Mario Kart World, be sure to check out our overview of the Mario Kart World characters, as well as why the game isn’t on Switch 1.

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