Many Mario Kart fans were expecting a new game in the franchise to be unveiled at the most recent Nintendo Direct. Nintendo instead announced that the most recent Mario Kart game 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.
The Mario Kart 9 hype 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 that Mario Kart 9 would be revealed at the event.
Instead of a new game, Nintendo announced that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe would be receiving 48 new courses. The company also revealed that the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass will be released in six waves up until 2023, with the first wave including Coconut Mall from Mario Kart Wii, Choco Mountain from Mario Kart 64, Tokyo Blur from Mario 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 that Mario Kart 9 was not even in development, but famed Nintendo leaker Zippo claims otherwise. Zippo alleges that the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass is being developed entirely by Bandai Namco while a new Mario Kart game is still in the works. Zippo also claims that they will have more information regarding the situation soon.
This may mean that the rumors containing information about Mario Kart 9 may not be entirely untrue. Some of these rumors offered information about possible gameplay changes in the sequel. Some examples were characters from other IPs like Star Fox, Pikmin, The Legend of Zelda, and Kid Icarus joining 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 new Mario Kart game, it is unlikely that it will be announced until all of the DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been released. In the meantime, players can enjoy playing the Booster 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 Deluxe is available for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Zippospeaks