Voice actor Samantha Kelly has revealed that her 18-year role voicing iconic Super Mario characters Princess Peach and Toad came to an end on the Nintendo Switch 2 launch day—when Mario Kart World was released without her in the credits.

Though not a widely recognized name, Kelly has been the voice behind Peach and Toad across more than 70 titles spanning the Nintendo DS, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, and Switch platforms, starting with Mario Strikers Charged in 2007. Her performances brought life to the characters in major franchises including Super Mario Bros., Luigi’s Mansion, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Bros., as well as spotlight moments in games like Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and last year’s Princess Peach: Showtime!.

Her voice work extended beyond Nintendo’s first-party games, appearing as Peach and Toad in third-party titles such as Ubisoft’s Mario + Rabbids series and Sega’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympics series. Beyond gaming, Kelly lent her voice to interactive Lego Super Mario sets, attractions within Nintendo’s Super Nintendo World theme parks, and even voiced Toad characters in the record-breaking Super Mario Bros. Movie.

However, fans quickly noticed her absence in Mario Kart World, with her name missing from the game’s credits. Kelly has since confirmed the news on Instagram, expressing her gratitude and sadness over the transition.

"Thank you for so many years of friendship and joy," she wrote. "I'm sad that it's over, I truly would have wanted to voice Peach and Toad forever. Nintendo let me know yesterday that they decided to recast these roles. I'm grateful that I got to do these voices for so many years. Peach and Toad are such strong and beautiful characters that I pray they live forever no matter who voices them. So much love <3 #princesspeach #toad"

The confirmation came only after the game’s release, highlighting Nintendo’s increasingly tight control over pre-launch information—including voice actor credits. This silence extended even to Kelly herself, who learned of the recasting just one day before the game launched.

As of now, Nintendo has not publicly revealed who will take over the roles of Peach and Toad in Mario Kart World or future titles.

Adding to the speculation, fans have also noted the absence of Takashi Nagasako, who has voiced Donkey Kong for 21 years since Mario Power Tennis in 2004. Instead, Koji Takeda—Donkey Kong’s Japanese voice actor in The Super Mario Bros. Movie—is credited, suggesting Nintendo may be aligning the game’s voice direction with the film’s Japanese cast.

This marks another shift in Nintendo’s long-standing voice cast, following the 2022 retirement of Charles Martinet, who portrayed Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi for nearly three decades. While Nintendo named Martinet a “Mario Ambassador” at the time, his subsequent comments indicated uncertainty about the role’s scope.

IGN has reached out to Nintendo for comment on the casting changes.