Highlights
- DLC in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has expanded the game's lifespan by adding new characters and tracks for players to enjoy, leaving them with plenty of options.
- With only one DLC pack remaining, it's unclear when it will be released, but past release patterns suggest it may come out in the final months of the year.
- Nintendo has followed a release schedule of roughly every 1/3 of the year for DLC packs, indicating that the final pack may follow a similar pattern as last year, potentially launching in December to space out the Holiday content.
DLC is a wonderful thing, as it can take an already robust game and expand its lifespan even further with a bevy of new content. Nintendo adopted this model early last year for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with a Booster Course Pass that periodically adds new characters and tracks for players to enjoy. The base version of the Switch port was already a Wii U game, featuring a ton of content in that form, so these new DLC waves now leave players with no shortage of options to choose from.
With the fifth batch of DLC hitting Mario Kart 8 Deluxe earlier this month, that leaves just one more pack on the horizon before Nintendo's six-wave plan is complete. It remains to be seen what exactly will be included in this final addition to the game, but an even more important question may be when it will become available. Nothing is confirmed as of this writing, however, looking back at past release patterns can help pave the way towards an educated guess.
The Final Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack
Nintendo formally announced its plan to add DLC content to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe during a February 2022 Nintendo Direct. In that announcement, Nintendo confirmed that these new additions would be split up across six waves, all arriving before the end of 2023. The plan has definitely unfolded as advertised, with one Booster Course pack remaining and with only a few months of 2023 left on the calendar. With less than half of the year left, the question of course is when this final pack will ultimately become available.
Considering that the most recent Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC pack launched on July 12, roughly two weeks ago, it's unlikely that the next wave will arrive anytime soon. Nintendo will likely want to space things out to give this most recent pack time to breathe and for players to enjoy this recent addition to the game, before providing an entirely new barrage of racetracks and characters to play with. For this reason, a release date in the final months of the year seems likely.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Release Pattern
For further confirmation of this, looking back at the release schedule for prior Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC packs seems to reveal an obvious pattern. After the initial plan was revealed in the aforementioned February 2022 Nintendo Direct, the release lineup was as follows:
- The first wave became available on Friday, March 18, 2022.
- The second wave became available on Thursday, August 4, 2022.
- The third wave became available on Wednesday, December 7, 2022.
- The fourth wave became available on Thursday, March 9, 2023.
- The fifth wave became available on Thursday, July 12, 2023.
Based on this information, it seems like Nintendo wants to have a new Mario Kart 8 DLC pack available roughly every 1/3 of the year. One early on during Spring, another at some point in the Summer, and then a final pack as the year comes to a close. Although 2023's release dates aren't exactly the same as 2022's so far, they are close enough to assume that the final pack will follow the same pattern as last year, launching close sometime around December.
Furthermore, it's likely that this final pack will hit around December as Nintendo will want to space out its Holiday content. It will have the highly anticipated Super Mario Bros Wonder available in October, then Super Mario RPG Remake in November. Rounding out this lineup with more Mario Kart 8 Deluxe content in December would serve as a nice cherry on top, and give all of these new games enough breathing room in between. All of this is speculation at this point, but Nintendo usually holds a Direct presentation in September, so hopefully, further information will be provided there.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available on Nintendo Switch.
