Mario Kart Chief: Cows Do Not Consume Beef

After three decades of grazing the pastures of Moo Moo Farm and Moo Moo Meadows, Cow has emerged as the breakout star of Mario Kart World’s expansive character lineup. So when Nintendo invited us to a roundtable discussion with Mario Kart World Producer Kosuke Yabuki, we couldn’t resist asking about everyone’s favorite bovine.

"Thank you for asking about Cow," Yabuki began—one of the most delightful openings I’ve ever heard in an interview. "We considered adding Cow because we believed it would bring players joy—and we were right. But honestly, the public’s reaction was far greater than we ever expected. It was a wonderful surprise. Thank you."

Yabuki’s astonishment at Cow’s popularity echoes what we heard from Nintendo of America's Bill Trinen, who told us in an interview that their internal expectations for Cow were "perhaps not as big as the cow has become."

Cow’s origin story makes her inclusion even more delightful. In last month's Ask the Developer series for Mario Kart World, Yabuki confirmed that a developer’s "silly sketch" of Cow driving a truck convinced him and the team to add Cow as a playable character. I asked Yabuki about the evolution of what they now call "NPC Drivers"—a category that expanded to include Snowman, Penguin, Swooper, and many others.

"Adding Cow really opened the floodgates for us," Yabuki continued. "Once a character like that is in the game, you start thinking, 'Why not include others we can?' That’s when the designers got truly excited. Once they realized all these characters were possible, we saw Penguin, Pokey, and others join the roster one after another. New character designs kept pouring in. The designers got so carried away that it’s a bit hard for me to recall which character came right after Cow. Sorry about that! I remember approving Cow’s concept, and the next day, there were already ten new character proposals on my desk."

… adding Cow really opened the floodgates for us.

There may be a slightly darker side to this story, though. One of Mario Kart World’s other new features is Dash Food, which players pick up from Yoshi’s drive-thrus scattered across the open world. Soon after Mario Kart World was unveiled, IGN’s Brian Altano noticed during a preview event that Cow could consume items like steak kabobs and hamburgers—foods traditionally made from beef. So we had to ask Yabuki the ultimate question: Are those veggie burgers, or what’s going on?

Yes, Cow CAN eat steak in Mario Kart World. pic.twitter.com/qN5PZ9IIM4

— IGN (@IGN) April 4, 2025

"Sorry, that’s top secret," Yabuki replied with a laugh. "I can’t say."

The mystery remains—just like the question of whether Diddy Kong will appear in Mario Kart World with his fresh redesign. To that, Yabuki simply said, "I'm afraid I can’t comment at this time." But the rest of Mario Kart World’s secrets will soon be revealed, with just two days left until the Nintendo Switch 2 launch and its flagship game arrives. For more, check out our final hands-on preview of Mario Kart World, where we were impressed with the racing but still uncertain about Free Roam. Also, take a look at our preview of the $10 launch title, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour.