Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is adding another trio of characters to its massive roster. This is a part of Wave 5 for the Booster Course Pass DLC, which was announced just today.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the latest and bestselling installment in the iconic Mario Kart franchise, being an enhanced port of the Wii U original with all of its DLC bundled in and even more characters on top of it. Despite the critical acclaim it's received since its original 2014 release, one of its biggest criticisms was its roster, which many critics deemed to be padded out with too much filler, such as the Babies and Koopalings. Things only got worse with the original DLC, which left Mario and Peach each with four separate variants in the same game. But the Deluxe port has taken some strides to remedy this by bringing back some old favorites
As announced in the latest Nintendo Direct, Wave 5 of the DLC is on its way. No other tracks were introduced aside from a brand new one titled Squeaky Clean Sprint, which takes place inside a bathroom fit for a giant. But the most notable feature Nintendo showed off was the addition of three veteran characters from across the Mario Kart series, upping the ante from Wave 4 which only added one. These include Petey Piranha, who was first playable in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and recently made his return in Mario Kart Tour; Wiggler, whose first and only other playable appearance was in Mario Kart 7; and Kamek, who was notoriously absent until Tour despite being planned as part of Mario Kart 64's roster back in 1997.
No release date was announced for this wave, but its release window was confirmed to be the summer of this year, which could land it somewhere between June and September. It wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a reveal of the full track selection sometime soon, given that's what happened with Wave 4. Much like previous waves, expecting at least a few carryovers from mobile game Mario Kart Tour would be a safe bet.
Of course, this was just one of many reveals fans were treated to today, let alone Mario-related reveals. Fresh off his smash hit movie, Mario is getting more love than ever as of late, with two games coming next year, a remake of his very first RPG, and his first original 2D platformer since 2012.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
