Nintendo Switch 2 emulation is already making some impressive progress, and Mario Kart World is one of the first major games to demonstrate just how quickly things are moving!

Thanks to an experimental emulator called Eglantine, Nintendo’s colourful kart racer is now running on PC, with some early tests reportedly reaching around 60 frames per second.

That’s an impressive achievement for such a young console, although there are a few catches!

Mario Kart World Breaks Free From the Switch 2

Following developments in Nintendo Switch 2 jailbreaking, emulator developers have been experimenting with ways to get games running on other platforms.

One project attracting attention is Eglantine, an experimental emulator based on earlier Nintendo emulation projects, including Eden, Yuzu and Sudachi.

Eglantine has builds available for Windows, Linux and macOS, giving developers and enthusiasts an early glimpse of what Switch 2 emulation might eventually achieve.

Mario Kart World has become one of the project’s biggest talking points, with footage demonstrating the game running on PC hardware.

There have even been reports of the game running on macOS and an iPhone 18 Pro through related experimentation.

How Well Does Mario Kart World Run on PC?

Early performance results are surprisingly encouraging.

Reports suggest that a powerful PC equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 can achieve approximately 60 FPS in Mario Kart World, although performance isn’t always consistent.

Another reported test using an RTX 5070 produced frame rates of approximately 40–53 FPS.

For an experimental emulator, that’s certainly nothing to sneeze at!

However, don’t expect a flawless racing experience just yet.

Players and testers have reported issues including graphical glitches, missing geometry, shader compilation stutters and occasional performance drops.

In other words, while Mario Kart World can run on PC, the experience is still a long way from being as reliable as playing on Nintendo’s own hardware.

Could Nintendo Shut Down Eglantine?

Nintendo has a well-established history of defending its intellectual property, and the company has previously taken action against prominent Switch emulation projects.

The Yuzu emulator was shut down following legal action from Nintendo in 2024, while Ryujinx development also ended that year.

Whether Eglantine will attract similar attention remains uncertain, but Nintendo is unlikely to be thrilled about its latest flagship games being demonstrated on competing hardware.

Perhaps there’s a blue shell with Eglantine’s name on it somewhere!

What Does This Mean for Switch 2 Emulation?

The biggest takeaway from all of this isn’t necessarily that Mario Kart World is running at 60 FPS on a high-end gaming PC.

It’s how quickly developers have managed to make meaningful progress with a relatively new console.

Getting a game to launch is one thing. Achieving accurate graphics, stable performance, full compatibility and a smooth gameplay experience is an entirely different challenge.

Eglantine still has a long road ahead, and there is no guarantee that every Switch 2 title will become playable.

Nevertheless, these early demonstrations suggest that the Switch 2 emulation scene is worth keeping an eye on.

What do you think? Are you surprised to see Mario Kart World running on PC already? Or do you think Nintendo will bring these experiments to a screeching halt?

Let us know in the comments of the video!

Sources and Further Reading

• Eglantine – GitHub Releases
• Wccftech – Mario Kart World Running on PC
• XDA Developers – Early Switch 2 Emulation
• Game Rant – Mario Kart World on PC