Fans of Mario Kart 8 got a sneak peek at the third wave of DLC content coming later this year, filled with fan favorite courses. The reveal was part of Nintendo's long awaited and highly anticipated Direct showcase, which featured games coming throughout the rest of this year and into the winter months. In addition to already announced titles like Harvestella and Bayonetta 3, Nintendo also had a number of surprising reveals including Fire Emblem Engage as well as the tiniest glimpse of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The over 40 minute Nintendo Direct also had some good news for Mario Kart 8 fans who are waiting for the next wave of DLC content. As expected, Wave three can be purchased as a standalone pack of four courses, but for those who already subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, it'll be added at no additional charge day and date. Waves 1 and 2 added tons of fan favorites courses like Coconut Mall and as expected, there are eight more tracks on the way, though for this initial trailer, Nintendo has only identified two of them.
The latest trailer for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe teases what fans can expect to see as part of Booster Course Pass Wave 3 by showcasing only two of the eight total tracks. For now, Wave 3 will include the snow and holiday themed level Merry Mountain from the mobile spin-off Mario Kart Tour. The familiar candy cane streetlights, flying train, and small village at night can all be seen within the short few seconds of gameplay.
In addition to Merry Mountain, Wave 3 is also adding Peach Gardens from Mario Kart DS. As the name implies, players will be racing through the gardens within Peach's Castle complete with well trimmed shrubbery as well as a patrolling Chain Chomp inside of the castle's fountain area. While there's still six courses left to reveal, Nintendo has some time as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players won't be seeing these courses until the holiday season.
With Wave three on the horizon, Nintendo is nearing the halfway point of its Booster Course Pass, with the final three packs set to launch throughout 2023. Even with so much content still left unknown dataminers may have discovered future Mario Kart 8 tracks, giving fans a potential heads up on what they could be seeing in the future. So far, tracks like Vanilla Lake and Double Dash tracks like Waluigi Stadium have been found, though when they could be added is still a mystery. Naturally, there's still plenty of time where things could change, though it's possible that some of the datamined tracks could even be part of Wave 3.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available now on the Nintendo Switch.
