A recent datamine of Mario Kart World — a title circulating on Nintendo's latest hardware — has uncovered nine unused driver entries in game files tied to character weight statistics.
The discovery was posted publicly by modders and researchers on social platforms and archived by community trackers, and it has prompted renewed attention to how developers store unused or placeholder data in modern Nintendo Switch titles.
Mario Kart is Nintendo's long-running kart racing franchise, first launched with Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo in 1992.
The series has had multiple entries on Nintendo hardware, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch, which released on April 28, 2017.
Nintendo develops and publishes the Mario Kart franchise.
What the datamine shows
Researchers reported nine distinct driver entries present in a file associated with character weight stats.
The entries listed in the datamine are:
- Thwomp
- Blooper
- Ninji
- Goomba Twins
- Chain Chomp
- Fuzzy
- bird
- Banana
- Spiny
Public attribution and paraphrased statements
Modder and YouTuber Rimea relayed community findings, noting that researcher MondoMega located eight additional potential scrapped drivers in the file tied to character weight data.
The discovery was also highlighted by user mondomega on the BlueSky platform.
Context and verifiable notes
Several of the names on the list are longstanding Mario universe characters that have appeared across Nintendo titles in various roles.
For example, Blooper and Banana have been recurring elements in the Mario Kart series historically as items, while Chain Chomp and Spiny have appeared as enemies or obstacles in platforming entries.
The datamine identifies file entries; those entries do not by themselves confirm playable status, official roster inclusion, or future DLC plans.
What this means for Nintendo Switch 2 coverage
Datamines have long been a source of insight into game development, and community reporting often surfaces assets that were unused, placeholders, or intended for internal testing.
The Mario Kart World findings are the latest example and will be followed by further verification and reporting from modding and preservation communities.
Readers interested in ongoing coverage can monitor official Nintendo communications such as Nintendo Directs and listings on the Nintendo eShop for confirmed updates.
The discovery was posted publicly by modders and researchers on social platforms and archived by community trackers, and it has prompted renewed attention to how developers store unused or placeholder data in modern Nintendo Switch titles.
Mario Kart is Nintendo's long-running kart racing franchise, first launched with Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo in 1992.
The series has had multiple entries on Nintendo hardware, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch, which released on April 28, 2017.
Nintendo develops and publishes the Mario Kart franchise.
What the datamine shows
Researchers reported nine distinct driver entries present in a file associated with character weight stats.
The entries listed in the datamine are:
- Thwomp
- Blooper
- Ninji
- Goomba Twins
- Chain Chomp
- Fuzzy
- bird
- Banana
- Spiny
Public attribution and paraphrased statements
Modder and YouTuber Rimea relayed community findings, noting that researcher MondoMega located eight additional potential scrapped drivers in the file tied to character weight data.
The discovery was also highlighted by user mondomega on the BlueSky platform.
Context and verifiable notes
Several of the names on the list are longstanding Mario universe characters that have appeared across Nintendo titles in various roles.
For example, Blooper and Banana have been recurring elements in the Mario Kart series historically as items, while Chain Chomp and Spiny have appeared as enemies or obstacles in platforming entries.
The datamine identifies file entries; those entries do not by themselves confirm playable status, official roster inclusion, or future DLC plans.
What this means for Nintendo Switch 2 coverage
Datamines have long been a source of insight into game development, and community reporting often surfaces assets that were unused, placeholders, or intended for internal testing.
The Mario Kart World findings are the latest example and will be followed by further verification and reporting from modding and preservation communities.
Readers interested in ongoing coverage can monitor official Nintendo communications such as Nintendo Directs and listings on the Nintendo eShop for confirmed updates.
