Over the past three decades, Cow has gone from peacefully grazing in the fields of Moo Moo Farm and Moo Moo Meadows to becoming one of the most beloved characters in *Mario Kart World*. With such a massive cast of characters, it’s impressive for any newcomer to stand out—but Cow has done just that. When we sat down with *Mario Kart World* Producer Kosuke Yabuki in an exclusive roundtable interview, we knew we had to ask about this unlikely star.
"Thank you for that question about Cow," Yabuki said with a smile—an opening line that instantly became a highlight of the interview. "The decision to include Cow was something we considered carefully, as we believed players would really enjoy it. And so we did. But honestly, the public's reaction exceeded all of our expectations. It was a wonderful surprise. Thank you."
Yabuki wasn't alone in his astonishment at Cow’s popularity. Bill Trinen from Nintendo of America shared similar sentiments in a previous interview, noting that their internal expectations for Cow were “perhaps not as big as the cow has become.”
Cow’s journey into *Mario Kart World* is even more charming than expected. As revealed in last month's *Ask the Developer* series, it was a developer’s playful sketch of Cow driving a kart that ultimately convinced Yabuki and the team to bring her into the game as a playable character. I asked Yabuki how the idea evolved into what they now call “NPC Drivers,” which eventually expanded to include characters like Snowman, Penguin, Swooper, and many more.
“I have to say, adding in Cow really opened the floodgates for us,” Yabuki explained. “Once you've got a character like that, you start thinking, ‘Well, maybe we should just add who we can.’ That’s when the designers really got excited. Once they realized all these characters were possible, that’s when Penguin came in, Pokey came in—one after another, new character concepts kept appearing. Because they came in so quickly, it’s actually a bit hard for me to remember which character followed Cow immediately. Sorry about that! Honestly, I remember approving Cow’s concept, and then almost overnight, there were ten new character proposals on my desk.”
There may be a darker side to this story, though. One of *Mario Kart World*'s new features includes Dash Food, which racers collect from Yoshi-run drive-thrus scattered across the open world. During a preview event, IGN’s Brian Altano noticed something unusual—Cow eating items that traditionally contain beef, such as steak kabobs and hamburgers. We couldn’t resist asking Yabuki the burning question: Are those plant-based burgers, or is something else going on?
“Sorry, that’s top secret,” Yabuki replied with a laugh. “I can’t say.”
So, the mystery remains—not unlike the question of whether Diddy Kong will appear in *Mario Kart World* sporting his newly redesigned look. On that topic, Yabuki simply said, “I’m afraid I can’t say anything at this time.”
But fans won’t have to wait long to uncover the rest of *Mario Kart World*'s secrets. The game launches alongside the Nintendo Switch 2, just two days away. For more details, check out our final hands-on preview of *Mario Kart World*, where we found the racing mechanics exciting, although we’re still evaluating the Free Roam experience. Also, don’t miss our preview of the $10 launch title, *Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour*.
