Rumors have been swirling for quite some time that Nintendo has a newMario Kartgame in development, with some leakers referring to it asMario Kart 9andothers calling itMario Kart Crossroads. According to the leaks, the newMario Kartwill apparently be some kind ofSuper Smash Bros.-level crossover game with a variety of Nintendo characters racing each other. With so many rumors about this supposedMario Kartgame, many fans were expecting to see it announced at the latest Nintendo Direct event, but instead the Big N revealed paid DLC forMario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Nintendo has revealed freshMario Kart 8 DeluxeDLC that will release throughout 2022 and into 2023 in the form of the Booster Course Pass, which consists of remastered tracks from previousMario Kartgames. The content in theMario Kart 8 DeluxeBooster Course Pass will be released in six waves, with each wave consisting of eight new tracks for a total of 48 courses. Wave 1 will include Coconut Mall fromMario Kart Wii, Choco Mountain fromMario Kart 64, and Tokyo Blur fromMario Kart Tour. These tracks and five others that have yet to be specified will launch on March 18.
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Pre-orders for theMario Kart 8 DeluxeBooster Course Pass go live today, with it costing $24.99. However, those who are signed up for theNintendo Switch Online Expansion Packshould note that the Booster Course Pass is included at no additional cost. This significantly increases the value of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, as it not only give players access to Sega Genesis games, Nintendo 64 classics, and theAnimal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home ParadiseDLC, but now the Booster Course Pass as well.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis one of the best-selling games of all time, so it does make sense for Nintendo to release more DLC for it. After all, there is a huge install base ofMario Kartfans who still playMario Kart 8 Deluxeand are likely happy to be getting new content, even if they have to pay for it. However, it’s also likely that there will be fans upset that the Nintendo Direct didn’t include the reveal of therumoredMario Kart 9game, especially since a version ofMario Kart 8dates back to the Wii U.
The newMario Kart 8 DeluxeDLC extends all the way through 2023, and so fans shouldn’t hold their breath about seeing the nextMario Kartgame at any point in the near future. However, that doesn’t mean that the rumored game isn’t in the works. After all, Nintendo has said that theNintendo Switch is only halfway through its lifecycle, meaning there’s plenty of time for a newMario Kartgame to come at some point down the road.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
