August 18, 2022

Mario Kart is one of Nintendo’s all-time great racing games and it’s clear how much the company loves the series.

Not only has Nintendo remade Mario Kart 8, but they’ve also added a hefty DLC booster pack to the game too. On top of this Nintendo has in recent years released the ‘Mario Kart Tour’ mobile game, and the ‘Live: Home Circuit’ mixed reality game. So it’s clear how much stock Nintendo places in this franchise, so we imagine they’ll take their time to make sure the next outing is another fantastic must-buy.

For now, though, we’re still waiting to see where Nintendo takes the game next. Read on for everything we know so far.

18 Aug Update - Checked for the latest Mario Kart 9 news. All the most recent updates are found just below.

Latest News & Leaks

Release Date

Mario Kart 8 was released May, 29, 2014, so we’re fast approaching the 8 year anniversary mark for the game and prior to 2022 you’d have probably said that we were due a new release. Not least given that the game was already remade for Nintendo Switch and released on April 28th, 2017.

Previously we would have suggested that a new Mari Kart game could be due around 2023, however, the announcement for the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass has thrown fans a massive curveball.

The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass launches as standalone DLC and as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. There ar going to be six waves released, each including eight courses that can be played locally and online. All six waves will be released by the end of 2023.

As such, you’d have to imagine that we definitely won’t be seeing a new Mario Kart 9 game until 2024, at the very earliest. In some ways, this would be quite fitting, with Mario Kart 8 turning 10 in the same year.

Characters

Obviously, with Mario Kart 9 not having been announced just yet, it’s impossible to say for certain which characters will be available in the next game. However, we imagine the vast majority of characters available in Mario Kart 8 will return. For those wanting to know who that includes, take a look at the list just below:

• Baby Mario
• Baby Luigi
• Baby Princess Peach
• Baby Princess Daisy
• Baby Rosalina
• Dry Bones
• Lemmy Koopa
• Bowser Jr.
• Isabelle
• Koopa Troopa
• Lakitu
• Larry Koopa
• Shy Guy
• Toad
• Toadette
• Wendy O. Koopa
• Cat Peach
• Inkling Girl
• Inkling Boy
• Princess Daisy
• Princess Peach
• Tanooki Mario
• Villager (Male)
• Villager (Female)
• Yoshi
• Iggy Koopa
• Luigi
• Ludwig Von Koopa
• Mario
• Donkey Kong
• King Boo
• Link
• Metal Mario
• Pink Gold Peach
• Roy Koopa
• Rosalina
• Waluigi
• Bowser
• Dry Bowser
• Morton Koopa Jr.
• Wario
• Mii

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That’s everything you need to know about the next Mario Kart game, but stay tuned to Turtle Beach for more updates and leaks.