ManyMario Kartfans were expecting a new game in the franchise to be unveiled at the most recent Nintendo Direct. Nintendo instead announced that the most recentMario Kartgame in the series would instead receive 48 new tracks via a new DLC. Some fans were unhappy about this, but now a new leak is alleged to shed more light on the situation.
TheMario Kart 9hype train was seemingly swiftly derailed after the Nintendo Direct on February 9 due to the fact that Nintendo made no mention of a new entry to the series. Many fans expected this to be the case after various rumors insinuated thatMario Kart 9would be revealedat the event.
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Instead of a new game, Nintendo announced thatMario Kart 8 Deluxewould be receiving 48 new courses. The company also revealed that theMario Kart 8 DeluxeBooster Course Pass will be released in six waves up until 2023, with the first wave including Coconut Mall fromMario Kart Wii, Choco Mountain fromMario Kart 64, Tokyo Blur fromMario Kart Tour,and five other unspecified tracks. The DLC will also be made available via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion.
This gave many fans the impression thatMario Kart 9was not even in development, but famed Nintendo leaker Zippo claims otherwise. Zippo alleges that theMario Kart 8 DeluxeBooster Course Pass is being developed entirely by Bandai Namco while a newMario Kartgame is still in the works. Zippo also claims that they will have more information regarding the situation soon.
This may mean that therumors containing information aboutMario Kart 9may not be entirely untrue. Some of these rumors offered information about possible gameplay changes in the sequel. Some examples were characters from other IPs likeStar Fox, Pikmin, The Legend of Zelda,andKid Icarusjoining the roster, coins being done away with entirely, large and small box types, which are rumored to contain more powerful and less powerful items, and players only having one available item slot.
While this information bodes well for a newMario Kartgame, it is unlikely that it will be announced until all of the DLC forMario Kart 8 Deluxehas been released. In the meantime, players can enjoy playing theBooster Course Pass DLC for free online, as players will not need to pay for the DLC to access the new tracks in online multiplayer.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis available for Nintendo Switch.
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