Mario Kart World NPCs Are Doing Their Best GTA Impression

I don’t care what anyone says, I enjoy Mario Kart World‘s open world. Yes, it’s a little bare, but driving around is relaxing, and I don’t need everything to be a deep experience. What I didn’t know, but have recently learned (and find immensely entertaining), is that Nintendo snuck in a little GTA in my Mario Kart.

Mario Kart carjacking is a thing

A recent post on X/Twitter from @MarioBrothBlog showcases some of the behind-the-scenes happenings in the supposedly dead Mushroom Kingdom.

Watch as the green Shy Guy leaves his car, and a Yellow Toad not only steals his ride but looks around to make sure no one is looking first.

In Mario Kart World, NPCs will park their cars, exit them, and walk around. However, the game does not actually keep track who each car belongs to. As such, a different NPC than the owner may drive away with a car, seemingly stealing it. pic.twitter.com/KTXsDHXwiL

— Supper Mario Broth (@MarioBrothBlog) September 16, 2025

Obviously, his eyesight isn’t great because he doesn’t see Mario looking right at him. He gets in the car and pulls off.

Supper Mario Broth does mention that the Shy Guy will keep walking until you leave him alone, at which point he disappears, enters a building, or steals a car of his own.

Am I going to go with the very reasonable explanation that the game doesn’t keep track of which car belongs to whom? No. No, I am not. And you should know me well enough by now to know that. Is the occasional carjacking enough to say that Mario Kart World‘s open world isn’t a bit barren? Not really. But in situations like this, who cares about logic? Eat that, SEGA.

The new head canon is that Mario Kart World is a Nintendo GTA test game in secret. And no one will ever get me off of this. Hell, that might not be a bad idea if they could find a way to do it, since we can’t get a Simpsons Hit and Run remaster.

Now, excuse me while I go follow Shy Guys and Toads around for the next three hours.