Zelda engineer reveals future plans for Mario Kart-inspired community racing series in Tears of the Kingdom

Since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, Legend of Zelda fans have created a bunch of amazing things in Hyrule.

While its modding scene is already producing plenty of interesting add-ons, arguably the most impressive aspect of the numerous builds that players have managed to put together so far is that the majority can be assembled using powers and objects already in the game.

Now, a group of technically-skilled tinkerers have organised a means for Hyrule’s engineers to put the array of vehicles they’ve been building to the test.

Ever wanted to put your Zelda Tears of the Kingdom vehicle builds to the test by racing around Hyrule?

This project, dubbed the Hyrule Grand Prix, has been put together by some members of the Hyrule Engineering Discord server.

Described by one of its organisers, who goes by the handle LunisequiouS, as: “a community effort to recreate the Mario Kart/Diddy Kong Racing experience in Tears of the Kingdom,” the initiative challenges players to race the vehicles they’ve created against each other on set courses.

If you’re wondering how this all came about, as LunisequiouS revealed to us, it was a case of several people having the same idea separately and then joining forces via the server to make it happen.

“When we saw the incredible potential to engineer all sorts of vehicles and contraptions, coupled with the expansive open world of Hyrule, we just knew it would be the perfect place to host all sorts of wacky and fun races,” they explained.

“Scouting races throughout Hyrule is a very challenging, but rewarding process,” said LunisequiouS in regards to the practicalities of putting together the project, continuing: “We want to find tracks that just seem like they were there all along, just waiting to be discovered.”

They added that the group’s main aims in assembling each course, such as the six launch tracks currently available to competitors, are to ensure it “will test the player's skills and keep them engaged”, in addition to featuring “easily identifiable landmarks to serve as checkpoints.”

LunisequiouS gave us plenty of info on how the project will grow and evolve growing forwards, outlining future plans for new race variants, such as mountain climbs and “integration races” that’ll involve some building on the fly.

Also in the works are special events like live races, the first of which are set to take place this weekend, and "track days" that’ll see circuits submitted by community members be showcased and potentially added to the project’s official track list.

These will be in addition to wider monthly themes, like a “mecha month” that’ll see “players try to complete the races with megazords, spider walkers and whatever (other) crazy robotic inventions they can come up with,” and awards for everything from unique builds to amusing disaster clips.

"For now, we're planning on growing organically,” LunisequiouS explained, adding: “This is and has always been a community effort, so our focus is on hearing community input and crafting an experience that is enjoyable for everyone.”

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