Nintendo quietly rolled out version 1.1.2 of Mario Kart World on June 25, 2025, introducing one small-sounding but huge change under “General Updates”: “Adjusted courses selected in ‘Random’ when selecting next course in a wireless ‘VS Race.’”
Before v1.1.2, choosing Random in an online lobby reliably dropped you onto one of the 30 classic three-lap circuits—letting players dodge the new “intermission” segments introduced in Mario Kart World. Under the patch, however, Random now lumps those intermission courses in with the three standard-lap tracks. In practice, that means you might still get a proper circuit—or you’ll end up on one of the single-lap, “rolling start” intermission roads that link each main course together.
Those intermission segments were always divisive. Many players only booted up online matches to perfect tight, three-lap runs on fan-favorite tracks—Random was their loophole. With v1.1.2, Nintendo essentially shut the loophole, ensuring intermissions appear far more often, even when you explicitly pick “random” to avoid them.
The reaction has been swift and merciless. On ResetEra, longtime fan GreenMamba lamented that Nintendo “has basically stepped in and said ‘no, you’re supposed to play this way,’” adding “good luck to ever even playing Rainbow Road online anymore”. Over at Nintendo Life, user CoralSensei4 put it bluntly: “I was genuinely having fun playing this game and perfecting the three-lap tracks for online and this just ruined all of that practice.” Others on Famiboards decried the update as “tone-deaf,” and declared they will “won’t touch this game until this…idiotic decision is fixed”.
While Nintendo hasn’t publicly explained the change, insiders suspect it wants to spotlight its marquee “world” feature—namely, the intermission roads between courses. By making them harder to avoid, the company likely hopes more players will experience every stylized transition it spent so long crafting.
Fans are calling for a prompt v1.1.3 rollback or configurable lobby settings to restore Random as a three-lap guarantee. Some players have even started petitions on Reddit and Discord, urging Nintendo to reconsider before World’s first anniversary. Whether Nintendo hears them remains to be seen.
