Mario Kart World Leaks the Return of Fan-Favorite Game Mode

A new leak suggests that Mario Kart World might soon welcome the return of one of the series’ most popular modes. Launched on June 5, 2025 along with the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, Mario Kart World is the latest in Nintendo’s line of kart racing games and the first to feature an open world to explore.

Mario Kart World‘s critical reception has been largely positive, with the game sitting at an 87 Top Critic Average score on OpenCritic. The game has been praised for its dynamic courses, expanding on the formula popularized by the series’ previous entry, Mario Kart 8. The game’s open world is also a refreshing take on the typical series formula, allowing players to free roam and discover secrets in the world map between taking on races. The atypical structure of the game also lends itself to Knockout Tour, an extremely popular new game mode that allows a large group of players to continuously race from one course to the next, eliminating groups of racers after every completed lap until only one winner remains.

Mario Kart World Changes How Bob-ombs Work

Mario Kart World is changing the formula for how Bob-ombs work in a couple of ways that may impact players’ racing experiences.

Mario Kart World Leak Suggests Bob-Omb Blast Is Returning

Recently revealed information about Mario Kart World’s upcoming plans may have unveiled the impending return of a fan-favorite mode from the series’ past. In a post on the official My Nintendo website celebrating Mar10 Day, an annual celebration of Mario that occurs on March 10, a screenshot of Mario Kart World was posted showing off the Mar10 Day VS Race in-game event. Though the image focuses on an Event mode within the game, eagle-eyed fans on the game’s Reddit page have spotted a change to the Battle mode icon above it, which appears to now include a Bob-Omb icon. Currently, the Battle button in Mario Kart World displays a balloon and a coin, representing the two currently available modes, Balloon Battle and Coin Runners. The inclusion of a Bob-Omb in this image implies that the game will soon feature the return of Bob-Omb Blast as well.

Mario Kart World leak suggests the return of a fan-favorite mode

Bob-Omb Blast was first introduced as a part of Mario Kart Double Dash‘s Battle mode. In the unique GamCube Mario Kart title, racers playing in this mode were given nothing but Bob-Ombs and tasked with blowing up enemy players, increasing their points with every individual hit with an explosion. Being hit would also lose racers points, and the first person to reach three points was the mode’s winner. Variations on this formula were included in the optional rule sets of Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart Tour‘s Balloon Battle modes, allowing players to set all items to Bob-Ombs. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe saw the formal return of Bob-Omb Blast, though the game now offered players five balloons which would be expended each time they were hit with a Bob-Omb. The loss of all five balloons would see players respawn with half of their points gone and fewer balloons to work with.

While Mario Kart World has been updated regularly since launching alongside the Nintendo Switch 2, the implementation of a new game mode would be one of the biggest changes the game’s seen since its release. Many fans have fond memories of Bob-Omb Blast’s chaotic battles, and it would be a welcome addition to World‘s Battle mode options. Whether this new version of the game mode would be more similar to the original as seen in Double Dash or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe‘s version remains to be seen, but fans should pay attention to Nintendo’s MAr10 Day announcements to potentially hear more about their plans for the game.