From Super Mario Party to Mario Golf: Super Rush, the Nintendo Switch has a good roster of Super Mario spin-offs to offer users. Nevertheless, for a long time fans have been asking when they'll get a new Mario Kart game. The Switch technically has a Mario Kart title thanks to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but not everyone is satisfied with this expanded port of the Wii U entry. Fans of the successful Super Mario racing subseries would love to see a new Mario Kart game exclusive to the Switch, even if they've already got access to Mario Kart 8.
According to a recent leak, the wait for a Mario Kart game may be over soon. LeakyPandy, an industry insider who specializes in Nintendo news, recently claimed that Nintendo will reveal a game called either Mario Kart 10 or Mario Kart Crossroads sometime in 2022. According to LeakyPandy, Mario Kart Crossroads will differ from its predecessors in that it will cross broadly with other Nintendo properties. That may sound strange at a glance, but when considering recent changes to Mario Kart, a crossover game seems like the logical next step in a long-term plan from Nintendo.
Mario Kart's Broadening Horizons
Historically, Mario Kart has maintained its focus on the Super Mario world. Even if it sometimes included peripheral characters like Donkey Kong Jr. Or Funky Kong, they were still parts of the Super Mario universe. Nintendo's first sign of deviation from that formula was in Mario Kart DS where players could unlock R.O.B., the robotic former Nintendo toy now best known for his appearances in Super Smash Bros. From then on, Nintendo steadily began to experiment with adding its other properties to the Mario Kart games.
Mario Kart 8 saw a huge uptick in content from other Nintendo franchises. It featured two crossover DLCs; one bringing Link from The Legend of Zelda into the game, and the other bringing Isabelle and two Villagers from Animal Crossing. Mario Kart 8 not only got courses themed after Animal Crossing and Zelda, but F-Zero and Excitebike as well. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe took the expansion even further by adding two Inklings from Splatoon to the roster. As a result, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe felt significantly more like a union of Nintendo products than a simple Mario racing game.
The Long Wait for More Mario Kart
Considering that pattern of expansion, the rumors about Mario Kart Crossroads aren't hard to believe. Mario Kart 8's DLC make it seem like Nintendo has been interested in turning Mario Kart into a crossover franchise for some time, so Crossroads would be the natural conclusion. Whether or not Crossroads becomes the new standard for the franchise is hard to say, but there's certainly potential in allowing Mario Kart to gather Nintendo characters consistently, rather than just featuring a few guests from time to time.
If Mario Kart Crossroads really is the next step for the franchise, fans might have a better sense of why it's taking Nintendo so long to release a new Mario Kart game. Blending all of Nintendo's biggest franchises into one racing game means designing a ton of new courses, drivers, and karts that represent The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Splatoon, Kirby, and any number of other potential Crossroads participants. At the same time, the wait for a game like that should be worth it. Mario Kart Crossroads has the potential to revitalize the franchise through new items and courses inspired by the breadth of Nintendo's library, so long as the rumors are true.
A new Mario Kart game is rumored to be in development.