Disney and Dreamworks have been rivals for decades, producing some of the most iconic animations of all time. It’s fitting, then, that a new DreamWorks kart racer is coming to give Disney Speedstorm some stiff competition. Enter DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing.
Coming later this year, get ready to race as your favourite DreamWorks film characters from Shrek to Kung Fu Panda in DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing.
DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing announced
Here’s a new racing game announcement we never saw coming. Publisher Gamemill Entertainment has announced DreamWorks All-Stars Kart Racing will feature a variety of characters from iconic DreamWorks films such as Shrek, Trolls, and Kung Fu Panda, each with their own unique vehicle.
Characters from the Shrek films you can race as include Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots, and, naturally, the giant green ogre himself, Shrek. It marks Shrek's first appearance in a video game for over a decade.
Other confirmed characters include Po, Tigress, and Master Shifu from Kung Fu Panda, Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon; Megamind; and Mr. Wolf from The Bad Guys.
There will be 20 playable characters in total along with tracks based on DreamWorks locations Kung Fu Panda’s Spirit Realm to the Kingdom of Far Far Away from Shrek. Activating switches uncover hidden shortcuts while collecting Trolls equips power-ups as they ride beside you.
DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing is in development by Bamtang Games - the same team behind the Nickelodeon Kart Racers series.
There's no gameplay trailer yet, strangely, so it remains to be seen what DreamWorks' new kart racer looks like in motion.
This isn’t the first DreamWorks kart racing spin-off. In fact, this is the fourth DreamWorks-themed kart racer following 2006’s Shrek Smash n’ Crash Racing, 2009’s Madagascar Kartz, and 2011’s DreamWorks Super Star Kartz.
Release date
DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing is speeding on to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in late 2023, but a release date is yet to be confirmed.
Unlike Disney Speedstorm, DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing isn't free-to-play. This hopefully means there are no microtransactions.
The standard edition will cost £34.99 / $39.99. There’s also a Digital Deluxe Edition for £44.99 / $49.99 / £44.99. This version will include two exclusive karts and two exclusive characters: Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda and Wolf from Puss in Boots.
Another advantage it has over Disney Speedstorm is split-screen multiplayer for up to four players - Disney's kart racer only lets you race with one friend.
From Disney Speedstorm to Stampede: Battle Race Royale, family-friendly kart racers are having a resurgence right now. It feels like we’re back in the 1990s when almost every IP had a gratuitous kart racing spin-off.