Mario Kart can never have too many courses, characters, or karts. Every addition is welcome, and each game that adds more peaks players’ excitement. It’s been six years since the last non-mobile game, Mario Kart Deluxe 8, came out in 2017. Unfortunately, there isn’t any news about a new edition coming soon, but we got something almost as good. In early 2022, Nintendo announced the release of a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC, and since then, they’ve come through with most of it.
We’ve come a long way since the original Mario Kart, but comparing it to this DLC shows how much we’re really getting. Interestingly, some courses from that original game are in the Deluxe DLC. The first game, Super Mario Kart, debuted in 1992 for the Super Nintendo. In that game, there are four Cups with 20 courses in total. There are eight total playable racers in that game.
Playable characters in Super Mario Kart
- Mario
- Luigi
- Princess Peach
- Yoshi
- Bowser
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Koopa Troopa
- Toad
Since the original game, there have been thirteen other Mario Kart titles, with Mario Kart Tour being the most recent in 2019.
More Mario Kart
Then, beginning in March 2022, Nintendo started to roll out the new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC in waves. There will be six total waves of content, with the last dropping before the end of the year. We already have five content waves to look at after the most recent wave dropped in July. The DLC’s arrival marks the longest gap between a Mario game and DLC. Seven years between a major release and DLC isn’t common in the gaming world in general.
What’s in the DLC?
So far, the revealed DLC combines new playable characters with new raceable tracks. Each wave contains at least 2 cups with 8 new courses, equaling 48 new courses available by the end of 2023. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe currently has 48 courses, and adding the DLC will double that number and provide almost 100 total courses!
The DLC is available for a one-time purchase of $24.99. It’s also available to all players who own Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and have the Nintendo Switch Online+Expansion Pack. The Expansion Pack is an upcharge add-on to your Nintendo Switch Online subscription. The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack costs $49.99 a year and also includes games from Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, and more to play on Nintendo Switch.
The courses added with the DLC are mostly reworked from previous Mario Kart games with updated music and graphics. There have been 3 brand new courses: Squeaky Clean Sprint, Sky-High Sundae, and Yoshi’s Island.
List of All Revealed Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC Cups and Courses
Feather Cup
- Moonview Highway (Mario Kart Wii)
- Squeaky Clean Sprint (Mario Kart 8)
- Athens Dash (Mario Kart Tour)
- Daisy Cruiser (Mario Kart Double Dash!!)
Cherry Cup
- Sunset Wilds (Mario Kart Super Circuit)
- Vancouver Velocity (Mario Kart Tour)
- Koopa Cape (Mario Kart Wii)
- Los Angeles Laps (Mario Kart Tour)
Golden Dash
- Paris Promenade (Mario Kart Tour)
- Toad Circuit (Mario Kart 3DS)
- Choco Mountain (Mario Kart 64)
- Coconut Hall (Mario Kart Wii)
Lucky Cat
- Tokyo Blur (Mario Kart Tour)
- Shroom Ridge (Mario Kart DS)
- Sky Garden (Mario Kart Advance)
- Ninja Hideaway (Mario Kart Tour)
Turnip Cup
- Waluigi Pinball (Mario Kart DS)
- Kalimari Desert (Mario Kart 64)
- Mario Circuit 3 (Super Mario Kart SNES)
- New York Minute (Mario Kart Tour)
Propeller Cup
- Mushroom Gorge (Mario Kart Wii)
- Sydney Spring (Mario Kart Tour)
- Snow Land (Mario Kart Super Circuit GBA)
- Sky-High Sundae (Mario Kart 8)
Rock Cup
- London Loop (Mario Kart Tour)
- Boo Lake (Mario Kart Super Circuit)
- Rock Rock Mountain (Mario Kart 7)
- Maple Treeway (Mario Kart Wii)
Moon Cup
- Berlin Byways (Mario Kart Tour)
- Peach Gardens (Mario Kart DS)
- Merry Mountain (Mario Kart Tour)
- Rainbow Road (Super Mario Kart and others)
Fruit Cup
- Tour Amsterdam Drift (Mario Kart Tour)
- Riverside Park (Mario Kart Super Circuit)
- DK Summit (Mario Kart Wii)
- Yoshi’s Island (Mario Kart 8)
Boomerang Cup
- Bangkok Rush (Mario Kart Tour)
- Mario Circuit (Super Mario Kart and others)
- Walugi Stadium (Mario Kart Double Dash!!)
- Singapore Speedway (Mario Kart Tour)
New Characters
As a part of March’s 2023’s fourth wave, Birdo is now a new playable character. Mario’s sometimes enemy first appeared as a racer in Mario Kart Double Dash!! Birdo’s stats are the same as Yoshi’s regarding playability, and Birdo also has multiple colors. Then, in July, we got wave five and three more characters: Petey Piranha, Wiggler, and Kamek.
Petey Piranha last appears on a Mario Kart console game in Super Mario Kart Double Dash!! Petey’s racing stats are the same as Metal Mario’s. Wiggler was last a playable racer in Mario Kart 7. This time around, Wiggler’s stats are the same as Wailuigi’s. Finally, fresh off his big supporting role in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Kamek is also now playable. Kamek was first a playable racer in Mario Kart Tour, but this is his console debut. Kamek shares racing stats identical to Luigi.
Who Will Be Next?
The only other things we know about the DLC to come is that there are two more named cups, the Acron Cup and Spiny Cup, and two unrevealed playable racers. There’s no specific release date, but the last wave is due before the end of 2023, per Nintendo.