Cow Diet Mystery: Insights from Mario Kart Producer

Over the past three decades, Cow has gone from peacefully grazing 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 no small feat for a bovine to steal the spotlight—but Cow did just that. When we had the opportunity to sit down with *Mario Kart World* Producer Kosuke Yabuki at Nintendo, we knew we had to ask about the unexpected star of the game.

"Thank you for that question about Cow," Yabuki began—an opening line that instantly became one of the highlights of our interview. "The decision to include Cow was something we considered carefully. We believed players would be happy with her inclusion, so we went ahead with it. But honestly, the public’s reaction exceeded all of our expectations. It was a delightful surprise. Thank you."

Cow’s popularity wasn’t something Nintendo initially predicted. As Bill Trinen from Nintendo of America shared in a previous conversation, their internal expectations for Cow were modest—“perhaps not as big as the cow has become.”

What makes Cow’s journey even more special is her origin story. As revealed in a recent *Ask the Developer* feature on *Mario Kart World*, it was a lighthearted sketch drawn by a team member—one where Cow was behind the wheel of a truck—that ultimately convinced Yabuki and the rest of the development team to bring her into the game as a playable character. I asked Yabuki how the concept of “NPC Drivers” evolved during development, eventually expanding to include characters like Snowman, Penguin, Swooper, and more.

"I have to say, adding in Cow really opened the floodgates for us," Yabuki explained. "Once you've got a character in like that, you start to think, 'well, maybe we should just add who we can.' That was the moment when the designers really got excited. Once they realized all these characters were possible additions, that’s when Penguin came in, Pokey followed, and one after another, new character designs started pouring in. Because they came so quickly—and the team was clearly having a lot of fun—it's actually hard for me to remember which character came next after Cow. Sorry about that! Honestly, I recall approving Cow’s design, and then almost overnight, there were ten other character proposals on my desk."

Of course, there’s also a slightly darker twist to this otherwise heartwarming tale. One of *Mario Kart World*'s new features is Dash Food, power-up items obtained from Yoshi’s drive-thru stops across the open world. During an early preview event, IGN’s Brian Altano noticed something peculiar: Cow was happily munching on food items containing beef-like products, such as steak kabobs and hamburgers. Naturally, we had to ask Yabuki the big question: Are those plant-based burgers or… something else?

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 chuckle. "I can't say."

The mystery remains unsolved—for now. And while we're still waiting to learn whether Diddy Kong will appear in his newly redesigned form in *Mario Kart World*, Yabuki simply said, "I'm afraid I can't say anything at this time."

Still, many of *Mario Kart World*'s secrets are about to be uncovered, as the game launches alongside the Nintendo Switch 2. To get ready for launch day, check out our final hands-on preview of *Mario Kart World*, where we praised the racing mechanics but remained unsure about the Free Roam mode. Also, don’t miss our look at the $10 launch title, *Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour*.