Switch 2's Mario Kart World Bundle Has Apparently Reached The End Of Its Lifecycle

Bundle is how I got my Switch 2 and benefit of hindsight I would've just gotten the console on its own, but better to have spent an extra $50 on a game I didn't care for than an extra $80 I suppose.

Just keep shooting yourself in the foot, Nintendo.

Still think I'm content to wait for a bundle I'm more into or even a special edition console for a series I like...provided it isn't scalped first, that is.

GameStop confirmed it via social media. Nintendo already told us this would happen, anyway.

But yes, I bought two of these bundles. One for me and the other for my wife.

@LastFootnote im sure this will really hurt the sales.

I anticipate the sales of Mario Kart World will sharply decline as a result, though I am often wrong about these predictions.

My guess is that this time there will be rotation of games bundled, at first it was Mario Kart World, now it's Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

@LastFootnote Giving how insanely well the Switch 2 is selling i don't why you would say that. If anything from a business move this is pretty great for them because now new buyers will be forced to spend full priced on Mario Kart if they want it.

I bought them both separately on the same day as my local Walmart (the only place in my boondocks I could get a Switch 2) didn't have the bundle. It was pretty much priced the same as the bundle, and I regret nothing to this day. Best console purchase I've made so far.

@DennisReynolds The sales were extremely good. It seems like they’ve dropped off quite precipitously over the holiday shopping season.

If I thought Mario Kart World was worth $80, I’d be singing a different tune. I think it’s worth $50. And to be clear, I want Nintendo to succeed. But I want them to succeed by offering good value. If they’re going to continue raising prices and retiring loyalty programs like gold points, they deserve to fail a bit.

It had a good run... I guess it's just the Pokémon Legends Z-A bundle for now.

They'll bring it back next year as per usual

They’ll bring it back and/or do it with other games.

Also, Mario Kart World won’t be the only $80 game. Expect the next Pokemon, Mario and Zelda to have it.

I wonder which game will get the bundle treatment after Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Perhaps Splatoon Raiders?

A bit strange. Mario Kart as discounted pack-in was what made many people buy the system despite the overall price hike. And the standalone version is Nintendo’s priciest game yet at 90€, no way is it going to sell well on its own. It’s not actually super popular either. And what else is a system seller so far?

Because Nintendo needs that extra $30 per copy of MKW sold.

Glad I grabbed it when I did. I'll be dipping into MKW personally over the console's life cycle.

A shame. My parents just got me this for Christmas/birthday and although I'm really excited for the game, I wouldn't have wanted to ever spend the money or have anyone else spend the money on the game full price, so this is a great deal.

Now we need a Bubsy 3D bundle.

@NintonicGamer My thoughts exactly. I highly doubt this bundle is gone forever. Just for now. We'll see what next year brings.

Pretty sure they said it was only a temporary bundle, so not surprised it’ll end after the holiday season. I’m sure some new bundle will replace it in 2026.

Still think this isn't a good idea, but whatever. I've kept and displayed my box from launch!

@Willo567 Apparently they haven’t seen the recent sales in Japan. For all the game’s flaws, it’s doing astoundingly well!

That being said, like just about everybody else here, I don’t think it’s a good idea either. Certainly not if Nintendo doesn’t drop the price to $70. Or adds some substantial (and free) DLC in 2026.

@Lizuka Spending an extra 80$ and selling it back for 60$ doesn't sound that bad !

@IronMan30 I did the same thing. Got my launch day bundle and then a week later Nintendo sent me the email to buy direct from them. Granted that $1000 hit my wallet for a while but I still feel like it was worth it.

Oh no. How awful.

Jk it really sucks but 1) we all knew this was coming (and quite frankly I’m surprised it’s still around) 2) it’s not like this is going to hurt sales that much and 3) Mario Kart World is a pretty darn good game and shouldn’t be tossed aside just because it’s ten dollars above standard AAA pricing.

@Willo567 I hadn’t even heard of Nintendeen until maybe a week ago? Still haven’t seen a video of his.

Here’s an article from right here on NintendoLife: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/12/the-us-suffered-its-worst-november-since-1995-in-terms-of-hardware-sales

Another questionable decision from Nintendo with this console.😐

I am actually shocked. I thought they were going to make this permanent because of the pushback to 80 bucks. It would have been a way to not admit they were wrong. Discount the game to 50 only in the bundle forever.

I do hope this means Kart World drops out of top sellers for good now.

@AllBLK
They said that this was a limited time bundle when the console launch.

Yeahh $70 (AUD) for MK World was the only way I was getting it. And maybe I've just played too many indie games and cheap steam games recently, but even at $70 I've been struggling to justify getting it, even tho I think it's a decent game

I’m selling right now and have been for a while. I do think Nintendo is and will be just fine and late 2027-2029 will have the big time releases that solidify Switch 2’s library. But 2026 and even early 2027 looks like what first party wise? Need some big surprises in the late winter/spring direct.

I'm only interested in physical copies anyway, though the bundle would have been tempting in case I decide to grab another Switch 2 later on (I don't even have the one yet) for wireless multiplayer on the fly.

@LastFootnote Ah yes, Nintendo shooting themselves in the foot by checks notes discontinuing a bundle that months ago they said was going to be discontinued, and replacing it with new bundles with different games, changing them over a period of time instead of having only 1 bundle constantly.

The new bundled games then get more time in the spotlight and more sales, rather than Mario Kart continually being the pack-in despite it already selling over 10 million copies and getting an 95% attach rate. Plus, there's people out there that aren't interested in Mario Kart to begin with, so a variety of bundles is a good thing.

And if the past is any indication, the Mario Kart bundle is going to return in the future for Black Friday anyway.

Well, I don't think there was a Mario Kart 8 Switch Bundle, and that did pretty well...

Yes, that was a much cheaper game, but even taking into account the price, I don't think it will exactly drop off the charts entirely.

Really curious now, how this will affect the sales.

Right now in The Netherlands regular Switch 2 costs €439 and the MKW bundle costs €469. That means the game costs you €30. I think it’s worth €50 max. Personally I think MKW feels really unfished and the mechanisms make it very little fun. They should give us free DLC in the future instead of charging more. It would be insane if they charged more again and again

Nintendo always told us that this was a timed bundle. And I get why they want to make more bundles in the future (see Legends Z-A bundle) but having more bundles in the end confuses consumers.

@IronMan30 theee GOAT

There is absolutely no reason why this game should be more than $60 digitally on the eShop

Got my bundle when it launched and bought another one for my kid's bday. We've both been enjoying our Switch 2 a lot and MKW is certainly a very fun game with a lot of content, I haven't even started playing online and I'm at the 100h mark already. Bundled, the game cost 40 EUR. Despite buying mostly physical games, having this one downloaded is super handy. Just like rythm games it plays well in between "main games".
My two cents ...

Interesting to see what this does to sales of hardware and MKW itself, or if Nintendo have someone else up their sleeves. My son’s bundle was secured long ago and I’ll be wrapping it up in exactly two days time. I’ll be getting my own Switch2 at some point next year, I wonder what options I’ll have bar the system on its own?

@NintendoWife nobody sells it for €90.
I'm seeing it for prices ranging between €67-€75,99

I hate getting digital games but I was tempted to get that bundle for cheaper price and because I loved past MK games. If I knew MKW would be so boring then I’d have went with a physical to try it out and then sell it after. It was a regret for me but I don’t regret getting the console itself

I'm not normally a fan of the Mario Kart games, but $50 for the game as a bundle versus $80 for the game alone was too good of a deal to pass up. Plus, I did think the open-world mechanic was interesting. I do like being able to drive all around the map in the free roam mode. Probably one of the best Mario Kart games that I have ever played.

@IronMan30 Same here. Got one for myself at Target, and a second one for my girlfriend (whom I'm thinking of proposing to soon) via the invitation that I got from Nintendo itself. So unless one of them breaks, we're both set.

On the last Black Friday PS5 (the 5 yo console) got 2x more sells over Switch 2 in US.
Definitely "Nintendo doing well".

@thedicemaster Sure. But 90€ is Nintendo‘s MSRP, and if you were to buy it from store.nintendo, that’s what they keep charging.

What I’m getting at is: It’s not meaningless. Nintendo tried to push the boundaries on the occasion of the new generation, MKW being the most outrageously priced item. It’s unusual that dealers discount the game by that much. And it’s gonna be interesting how Nintendo intends to backtrack. They can’t perpetually advertise a price that’s not in sync with the real world market.

@cdriper 2017. The four year old PS4 sells more than double the units of the new Switch console, as does the Xbox One. Sound familiar?

I’m predicting a new bundle will launch in the new year.
Maybe a Monster Hunter one or event another Capcom franchise like resident evil.

Well when they announces it it was announced as a limited till the end of 2025, so... yeah?

Ohh... I expect new adopters are going to end up being even more vocal about MKW being a poor, cash grab entry in time then. Many of us who opted for the bundle have gone 'well, at least I didn't pay full price for it'.

Nintendo could have offered some free DLC to tie in with new adopters having to pay full price for it, but its too busy trying to finish the game with updates that should have been in place on day one.

@BaldB3lper78 If every single thing Nintendo does spells Nintendo doom, then nothing Nintendo does spells Nintendo doom. At least that’s how I look at it.

Commenters on this site love trying to spin every single story into some stupid scandal. Best to just ignore. 99% of them have no clue what they’re even talking about.

@LastFootnote where does it say in that article that the Switch 2 sales "dropped off quite precipitously"? Brand new consoles being outsold during November by an older console that is going on huge discounts isn't anything new, same happened with Switch 1 in 2017 which was outsold by PS4, same thing happened with PS5 which was outsold by Switch 1 in 2020 and 2021.

Obviously overall hardware in general is down because Xbox is out of the picture and nobody's buying them. Not to mention the fact that this is for 1 region for 1 month, in UK Switch 2 was 40%+ in November compared to last year, I don't even need to mention how much it's dominating in Japan.

I still feel scammed for paying 90 bucks for the physical copy of Mario Kart World.

Absurdly overpriced and totally not worth it.

@Skunkfish we have a completely different situation.
in 2017 there was a fresh start for Nintendo. Switch had a tiny game library, like few hundreds games.
in 2025 Switch 2 is a console with the biggest game library, even bigger than PS4 + PS5.

I paid £405 for my Mario Kart bundle, really happy with it.
It makes good business sense to me discontinuing it, as they can continue to sell a product to the late comers and promote the next big release with a bundle.
I've yet to see Mario Kart for £80 as people are saying it costs that much, most retailers in the UK are selling it between £50 and £65.
The amount of doom and moaning about Nintendo online is getting tedious, they're not doing anything different to their competitors.

I guess next zmas there will be a new mk bundle there have always been mk bundles…

@Lizuka I bought the bundle and I've yet to play Mario Kart game. I should have saved the $50. But I thought if I ever had a friend over, they may want to play Mario Kart. Then I realized I'll probably never have friends over for this. We only play MarioParty.

Why are some upset if they're not gonna buy it it anyway. If you wanted it, you had half a year to do so. And haters are gonna be upset for others' sake and not for them, lol.

I bought the bundle for 480 so the game is well worth it. MKWorld is something my family will play for the rest of the Switch 2's life cycle. It will be continuously updated, patched, will receive future DLCs, etc. so I might as well get it digitally.

Almost immediately the dooooooomed comment. Gamers lol. Obviously it was just an extra hook to blunt the new console price a little until enough big titles & Switch 1 upgrades were out to bolster the console. The Switch 2 isn't going to live and die by Mario Kart World sales, because this isn't like the Switch 1 where BOTW had to carry an enormous load to pull people in after the Wii U. Makes no business sense to continue this sku.

@LastFootnote Oh yes. Stupid Nintendo. Selling millions and millions of units in months. Us anonymous nobodies on the internet know soooooooooo much better.

I wonder if they'll bring it back with red Joy-Con 2 for MAR10 day. Compared to the Switch 1 days of red/blue at launch, yellow for ARMS, green/pink for Splatoon 2 and a different red for Odyssey the colour options for Switch 2's launch year are very limiting.

I bought the base system at a discount, and the physical copy of Mario kart world also on a discount, and spent less than I would have on the “bundle” with their digital game.

@Grumblevolcano I'll be surprised if different-colored Joy-Con were released for the Switch 2 anytime soon. Maybe they'll never be released. It's pretty clear they want the colors of the controllers to match the colors of their sockets on the Switch 2 itself. Nintendo seem scared to death these days of consumer confusion.

@LastFootnote
Everyone didn’t sell well not just Nintendo but the Switch 2 is the fastest selling console ever so it will be fine

Still waiting for a bundle I'd actually care about.

It'll be back for every Black Friday.

Does this mean that the code that comes with the system no longer works or does the code never expire?

@Greatluigi it will still work and should do for as long as the eshop is a thing. They just aren't making any more of this particular bundle for now.

There is nothing stopping a retailer making their own MKW bundle though, maybe with a physical cartridge.

@PixelSwitch Amen

The Animal Crossing Switch 2 special edition is coming soon

@KraniX ok cool. Thanks.

Remember that is GameStop Memo not a Nintendo Memo or PR Memo. If it came from that latter that would be different. GameStop isn't the only seller of Switch2. Now that Amazon is in the game...they could switch(Pun) their sales to Amazon Online as they have bigger presence world wide. So why does a memo from GameStop tell Nintendo what it can and can't do with Switch2 bundle???? Someone Please tell me you Got a Uncle in Nintendo here????

Sorry, we can no longer bundle a digital game with the console. Please understand.

Good now let's see what Mario Kart Sales will be like once the Bundle dries up.

I wish I had the option to install DK Bananza from the cart to the internal. (I have all my digital Switch games on micro sd express.) I went fully digital on Wii U for performance reasons. I don’t like knowing that I am getting a worse experience from my cartridge.

Now they will put Metroid 4 in it for keks.

No idea why people here are freaking out and going doom mode as if the bundle disappearing means S2 sales is gonna nose dive off a cliff.

These same people also thought the S2 was gonna underperform because “oh Steam deck” or “oh more expensive” or my personal favorite excuse “no games”. When in reality S2 is selling more then the S1 did ( considerably more) in the same timeframe.

It’s not new information that this was always a limited time bundle. It’s actually funny seeing how long this bundle stuck around if anything. Bundles having expiration dates isn’t new whether it’s PlayStation, Nintendo, etc.

This also doesn’t mean S2 won’t do another bundle anyway in the future. You know…like they already did with S1 that had multiple different bundles across its life.

Use some common sense people. If you want to do your daily hate on Nintendo then there is plenty to hate them for like GKC for instance.

Nintendo and their lame FOMO style marketing and they are surprise why people are pirating their games (roms) and systems (emulators).

@Solospiderknight They wouldn't get these hates if they never turn their back on their own customers. This gen they deserve all the hates that are coming to them cause nobody wants expensive fake stuffs that don't last.

I was put off by the mario kart bundle, since it doesn't come with a physical copy. Would rather buy the standard version.

Glad I picked it up when I did, hadn't realised it was limited