Mario Kart 9 release date for Nintendo Switch 2 'revealed'

A release date for Mario Kart 9 on Nintendo Switch 2 has been 'leaked' by someone who is understood to have successfully published exactly when the PS5 Pro and Nintendo Alarmo would be announced.

The same leaker also revealed the console's reveal and release dates as well as other games it's expected to launch with.

According to a Discord screenshot, user Average Lucia Fanatic said: "I have a date for y'all. 17th January 2025. Launch day is March 3rd.

"Launch titles are Mario Kart 9, Red Dead Redemption 2 and an announcement trailer for a 3D Mario. Retail price in Canada is $400."

The leaker is therefore claiming Mario Kart 9, the successor to Mario Kart 8 which is the best selling game in the series and on the Switch as a whole, will release on March 3.

Mario Kart 9 has not been confirmed to be in the works and it comes as speculation continues to swirl as to what games the Switch 2 will launch with.

While the leaker is said to have got the PS5 Pro and Nintendo Alarmo details correct, they also previously said an announcement on the Switch 2 would come in October.

None of this has been confirmed by Nintendo and as always with leaks, take them with a pinch of salt until there is any official announcement.

According to a leaker, Mario Kart 9 will release on Nintendo Switch 2 on March 3, the same date the console is expected to launch / Wachiwit, iStock

Videos and photos captured at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 appeared to show exact replicas of the Switch 2 and a lot of key details, including the Joy-Cons and how they attach to the side of the console, its size compared to the existing Switch and the connections it will have.

An accessories manufacturer that arrived at CES with the Switch 2 replicas reportedly claimed the console will launch in April and that its mockup was based on the real Switch 2, adding the optical Joy-Con sensor is indeed a new feature but is unsure exactly what the new C button stands for.

But responding to this, Nintendo told Japanese newspaper The Sankei Shimbum: "Images and videos are not official."

One manufacturer at CES backtracked and confirmed their mock-ups were based on online leaks and not anything Nintendo had sent.

Nintendo confirmed an announcement on the Switch 2 will still be made before the end of the current financial year, in other words before the end of March 2025, but fans have been venting frustration at the wait.

Shuntaro Furukawa, president at Nintendo, confirmed the Switch 2 console will have backwards compatibility with Nintendo Switch games although it's not currently known if that means physical games will be playable on Switch 2 or it's just downloadable software that will work.

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