Mario Kart fans on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED were expecting the next Mario Kart announcement from Nintendo would be a reveal of Mario Kart 9, or whatever the next mainline Mario Kart game ends up being called. These expectations were shattered this month when Nintendo announced 48 new DLC courses for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe that will release across six waves, with the final wave coming sometime in 2023. Not only was there no word of Mario Kart 9, but Nintendo committed to roughly two years of new Mario Kart 8 content. As a result of this, many Nintendo fans began to doubt a new entry was in the works, but according to a new report, it is.
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The new report comes the way of prominent Nintendo insider and leaker, Zippo, who relays word that they heard this new DLC is not being handled by the core Mario Kart team, but Bandai Namco. To this end, Zippo claims the core Mario Kart team is working on the next Mario Kart game.
“I heard shortly after the Direct that this DLC is being made entirely by Bandai Namco, EPD has little to no involvement with this, as work continues on the next Mario Kart,” said Zippo.
Unfortunately, this is the extent of the report, but Zippo does note they will have more information to share on this project soon. Until then, Mario Kart fans will take solace knowing that this recent Mario Kart 8 Deluxe announcement doesn’t mean Mario Kart 9 still isn’t happening. That said, it’s still wise to take all of this with a grain of salt, like any unofficial information.
Mario Kart 8 is currently the most recent proper Mario Kart game available on Nintendo Switch via Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Also on Nintendo Switch is Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. Meanwhile, if you have a mobile phone, you can also currently enjoy Mario Kart Tour.