How multiplayer works in Mario Kart World

There are a few ways you can play with friends in Mario Kart World for the Nintendo Switch 2, but the main thing you may be asking is “Can I play Free Roam mode with my friends?” The answer to that is a little complex, but we get into it below.

Below we explain how Mario Kart World multiplayer works based on our experiences.

Is there multiplayer Free Roam in Mario Kart World?

Kind of? Once you lobby up with your friends online, you’ll be placed in a simplified Free Roam lobby, effectively. In this Free Roam lobby, you can still find golden tiles and Peach coins, but you cannot complete P-Switch challenges. So it is kind of multiplayer Free Roam with some restrictions, but it’s not an actual choice on the menu.

There is also no actual local multiplayer Free Roam, but if you make an online lobby, you can activate the pseudo-Free Roam mode mentioned above with a second local player.

The only reason why I’m using the phrase “pseudo” is because if you are playing with a second local player, you can’t actually freely roam too much. Once you and your local friend get too far away from each other, the game will relocate you back together, so you have to stay somewhat close to your second player. You can still play together, but there’s definitely a proximity limit.

You also cannot take screenshots when you have a local second player in the online Free Roam lobby with you.

How local multiplayer works in Mario Kart World

Using local split screen, you can play any of the single-player game modes with your friends, except Free Roam. This means you can take part in any Grand Prix cup, play Knockout Tour mode, race in regular VS Races, and knock heads in Battles.

All of these modes have the same functionality as the single-player versions, so there’s nothing too special or fancy here. This is just the run-of-the-mill co-op that you probably did with your friends and siblings, after fighting about who gets to use the good controller.

How online multiplayer works in Mario Kart World

First and foremost, you will need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to use these features.

You can also play online with one local buddy, if you want. (The screen will just split in half, as it would if you did two-player local multiplayer.)

From there, you can opt to do the usual modes, just against random players online: regular races, a Knockout Tour, or Battles. Once you select the respective game mode, it’ll thrust you into a pseudo-Free Roam lobby while folks load in. Each of these modes also gives you a player score, which will go up as you win and down as you lose. As you race, you’ll be matched with people of similar score to you to try to keep things balanced.

You can also opt to play with friends from your Nintendo Switch friends list as well by selecting that option from the menu. One friend will need to make a lobby that others can then join.

The friend should appear on the page at the top, allowing you to join them by just selecting their tag, but if that doesn’t show up, you can join via the Room ID. You can get your room ID by pressing the Plus button and selecting “View Room Info,” which will put a code on your screen that your buds can input to join.

From here, you’ll again be placed into a pseudo-Free Roam with your buddies in the lobby.

Did you just get a Nintendo Switch 2? Are you trying to unlock every character and outfit in Mario Kart World? Or maybe you’re trying out The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the first time and you need a walkthrough for those pesky stoplights in the Forsaken Fortress? Either way, we have your back when it comes to helping you sort stuff out.

We have guides explaining how to set up your console (moving data from your original Switch to your Switch 2) as well as guides for things like getting external storage sorted out.