Super Mario Maker 2 Hits Major Course Upload Milestone

While it never quite had the success of other Nintendo Switch titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Maker 2 continues to have an impressive, large fan base two years after its initial release. Back in September of last year the game passed the monumental milestone of having 20 million fan made Mario courses uploaded to the Nintendo server, and now the game has crossed another course-uploading threshold.

The milestone comes as official support for Super Mario Maker 2 appears to be slowing down; Nintendo's most recent Ninji speedrun event was announced as the last of its kind, and few if any updates are expected in the future. Yet, while Nintendo might be moving on, many fans and streamers are still playing the 2019 title regularly.

In fact, the total number of course uploads in Mario Maker 2 is now at an astounding 26 million, meaning  somewhere around six million additional courses have been created since Nintendo last released numbers on September 4, 2020. Despite the fact Nintendo didn't do much with Mario Maker 2 for the plumber's 35th anniversary, it seems fans simply aren't ready to leave the game behind just yet. In addition, big gaming channels like Game Grumps on YouTube still play Super Mario Marker 2 quite often, which likely helps keep the game in the public's consciousness and inspires fans to try a technique they may have seen in a video for themselves.

The sandbox Mario title is still regularly played by speedrunners as well, and such players continue to keep the game in the headlines when they complete specific challenges like beating 1,000 Mario Maker 2 levels without dying. With streamers still playing the game, and fans continuing to upload content while showing very few signs of slowing down, Super Mario Maker 2 will likely be crossing additional upload milestones for quite some time to come.

As expensive, open-world video games have become more commonplace for AAA developers all over the industry, Nintendo has begun adapting some of its signature franchises. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the Wii U's swan song and the Switch's blockbuster introduction; turning Hyrule into a fully traversable open world that would inspire other games like miHoYo's Genshin Impact and Ubisoft's Immortals: Fenyx Rising. First-party Nintendo studio Game Freak has also announced its intent to broach the genre with next year's Pokemon Legends: Arceus, giving two of the biggest names in video gaming a foothold in open-world design. Another obvious choice to follow this up would be Super Mario Odyssey 2.

The upcoming Pokemon game has been a long-time coming. Pokemon Legends: Arceus was announced during a Pokemon Presents livestream in February, taking place in the Sinnoh region generations before the events of Diamond and Pearl - which will get remakes on Switch developed by ILCA this year. It will eschew the traditional railroading structure of a Pokemon game by making the entirety of rural Sinnoh open to explore, while bucking additional traditions with choices like including starters from different regions. This works as an evolution of the Wild Areas present in Pokemon Sword and Shield, while seemingly bringing the series one step closer to the "Pokemon MMO" that fans have desired for years.