Gameloft on what's next for Disney Speedstorm: "We look at Mario Kart World and learn"

Disney Speedstorm is, along with Disney Dreamlight Valley, the most popular Disney game licenses at the moment. Gameloft keeps these two free-to-play titles constantly updated, adding new content on a regular basis and with a roadmap that extends at least until mid-2026. But keeping up to date doesn't just require more Disney characters or IPs (although they seem to have plenty for now). You also need to keep a close eye on how the medium evolves, and the arrival of new hardware always generates anticipation.

We recently attended Gameloft's 25th anniversary party at their Barcelona headquarters, where they develop Disney Speedstorm, and were able to talk to their marketing director, Arnaud Bénéfice, about the present and future of the racing title, and also about the arrival of Nintendo Switch 2. You can watch the interview below.

Regarding the arrival of Nintendo's new hardware, we were particularly interested in his assessment, as a racing title developer, of Mario Kart World's arrival on the scene. Bénéfice sees the title's release as positive, and sees it as an opportunity for Disney Speedstorm to improve.

"It's really exciting. There aren't actually that many players in the karting market, so especially a big release like this always generates some interest. We're not necessarily direct competitors, in the sense that it's a paid game, and we're a free-to-play game, and we're also on a lot more consoles, so we're watching what they're doing very carefully. They're obviously leaders in the genre, they've brought a lot of innovation through the years, and we're watching very carefully what they're doing. Is there anything we can learn from what they're releasing?"

We also asked Arnaud about a possible native version of Disney Speedstorm and Asphalt Legends Unite (Asphalt series celebrates 20 years this 2025). "I can tell you that we are looking at the system. That's all I can say.", though he did acknowledge that the Nintendo Switch 2 launch was a big deal, both as developers and gamers.

In addition to the interview with Arnaud Bénéfice, we were also able to speak at Gameloft's 25th anniversary party with Yolanda Sanchez, studio's HR director, talking about the current industry and the challenges Gameloft (and other studios) will face in the coming years. You can find her below.