Mario Kart 8 is eight years old at this point, with the game originally released on the Wii U in 2014 before being ported to the Nintendo Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in 2017. The Nintendo Switch port included both DLC add-ons as standard, adding characters such as Link to the roster. Currently, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Nintendo Switch game, so it is understandable that Nintendo isn't in a rush to release the next entry in the series.
Nintendo recently announced that it was releasing 48 new courses for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe between now and the end of 2023, with the first wave of Booster Course Pack courses releasing on March 18, 2022. The new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pack is available to purchase as DLC for the game. Players can also play it as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service.
Data miners have managed to take a look at the files from the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pack update and figure out some of the courses that will be coming in future waves.
Between the data miners and fans' eager eyes, it appears that the following courses will be added to the game as part of the Booster Course Pack:
- Sydney Sprint (Mario Kart Tour)
- New York Minute (Mario Kart Tour)
- Singapore Speedway (Mario Kart Tour)
- Sydney Sprint (Mario Kart Tour)
- Mario Circuit (Super Mario Kart)
- Sunset Wilds (Super Mario Kart)
- DK Summit (Mario Kart Wii)
- Maple Treeway (Mario Kart Wii)
- Waluigi Stadium (Mario Kart Double Dash)
- Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 7)
- Merry Mountain (Mario Kart Tour)
- Vancouver Velocity (Mario Kart Tour)
- Sunset Wilds (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)
- Vanilla Lake (Super Mario Kart)
One of the most interesting things to note from this list is that a large amount of the courses are from the mobile game Mario Kart Tour. This could be because many of the courses translate to regular Mario Kart 8 Deluxe gameplay, or to further promote the game and encourage more players to check it out. These upcoming courses join the eight that were included in the first wave:
- Paris Promenade (Mario Kart Tour)
- Toad Circuit (Mario Kart 7)
- Choco Mountain (Mario Kart 64)
- Coconut Mall (Mario Kart Wii)
- Tokyo Blur (Mario Kart Tour)
- Shroom Ridge (Mario Kart DS)
- Sky Garden (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)
- Ninja Hideaway (New course)
The courses included in the first wave are from a large variety of games, with two from handheld games, two from console games including Coconut Mall from Mario Kart Wii, three from Mario Kart Tour, as well as a brand new original course that has never been seen in a previous game. This could indicate that at least one original course will be included in each of the waves, giving a potential total of six original courses. Adding the recently released and leaked courses together means that 21 of them are currently known which also means that 27 courses have yet to be revealed or leaked.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available now on the Nintendo Switch.
