Mario Kart fans get DLC but won’t get a new game quite yet

The February Nintendo Direct revealed Mario Kart will not be receiving another addition to the series for the time being but will see the addition of paid downloadable content coming to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe over the course of 2022.

Many fans hoping for a new addition to the Mario Kart franchise might be disappointed by Tuesday’s news, which came during the first Nintendo Direct of 2022, and a beefy one at that. Instead of plans for a new game in the Mario Kart series, Nintendo instead intends to release a series of remastered courses throughout 2022. These courses will come from the previous titles in the franchise and will be available for purchase as an added addition to the base Mario Kart 8 Deluxe game.

Over the course of 2022, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will see an additional 48 courses come to the game, Nintendo announced. The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass releases on March 18 with its first set of eight courses. There will be a total of six waves of each course each releasing throughout 2022 for a total of 48 additional courses. The first wave will feature remastered courses such as Coconut Mall from the Nintendo Wii, Choco Mountain from Nintendo 64 and Tokyo Blur from Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 DLC adds to Nintendo’s growing list

Nintendo has begun introducing paid DLCs for their more popular first-party titles, the most recent being the paid DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which was released at the end of 2021. As games on Nintendo Switch continue to thrive it is safe to say we will see more paid DLCs release for games in the future.

Like with the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise DLC, the 48 new Mario Kart courses will be available to purchase for $24.99. However, for users that have the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack that features the Nintendo 64 and Genesis packs, the Booster Course Pass will be available for no additional cost.