Nintendo responds to suggestion that AI-generated images used in Mario Kart World

Nintendo has pushed back on the suggestion that AI-generated images have been used in Mario Kart World.

The statement comes after eagle-eyed viewers watching the game’s recent Nintendo Treehouse livestream noticed in-game billboards by the sides of the racetrack that featured artwork similar in appearance to that made by generative AI.

“AI-generated images were not used in the development of Mario Kart World,” a Nintendo spokesperson told Eurogamer.

The images in question include artwork of a bridge, used on a billboard in a city area. It includes wonky lines and oddly-placed elements reminscent of an AI-generated image.

A second billboard next to this one features a work-in-progress skyscraper, with strangely-orientated floors and pathways, again similar to an image created using AI generation.

A third billboard features an image of an oddly-shaped car with unusually large windows that, once again, looks similar to something created by generative AI.

It should be noted that the version of Mario Kart World shown during the Nintendo Treehouse livestream was likely not the final version of the game, and it is normal for placeholder visuals to be present while a game is still in development.

It will be interesting to see if these pieces of artwork make it into the game’s launch version.

The Switch 2’s key launch title will arrive on 5th June, alongside Nintendo’s new console. I played an hour of the game last month, and came away hugely impressed. “Mario Kart World reinvents the series, and feels like Switch 2’s killer app,” I wrote.