Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
The Nintendo team has released a small update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The racing game has not received a patch since January 2019. However, the update does not contain any particular innovations. The creators have only taken care of two problems that recently appeared in tournaments and during matches with friends.Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been updated over 35.4 million times for the Nintendo Switch since its launch in April 2017 sold and is currently the most successful game on the console. Animal Crossing: New Horizons follows closely with around 32.6 million copies. The racing game last received two major updates in 2018. Back then, content from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and support for the Toy-Con car from Nintendo Labo were included in the title. Since the patch in January 2019, however, it has become completely quiet around Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
In the past, fans kept hoping for DLCs that add tracks and drivers to the racing game. This has not happened so far. The Wii U version of the title received two expansions at the time, but they are already available in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (buy now € 47.99). It's no great surprise that sooner or later Nintendo will release the next installment in the popular franchise. Almost two weeks ago rumors from an insider made the rounds that Mario Kart 9 has been in development for three years and a release could be imminent in the near future.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Patch Notes (Update 1.7.2)
Addressed an issue that caused tournament points to be reset. Addressed an issue that caused match history with friends to be reset. Source: NintendoMario Kart 8 Deluxe's first update in two years leaves fans wondering if it will ever get DLC
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has today received a small patch which fixes a couple of minor issues. It's the first update for the game since January 2019.
Today's patch makes two tiny changes to fix tournament points and match history from being reset. But it has also, again, sparked discussion among players wondering if a more significant update will ever follow.
Released back in 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is Nintendo Switch's best-selling game. Four years on, it continues to sell extremely well and has a near-permanent spot in the UK boxed game chart top 10.
Last year it looked like surging sales of Animal Crossing: New Horizons might finally dethrone Mario Kart 8 Deluxe from the Switch's all-time top spot - but then Mario Kart 8 Deluxe went and sold a bucketload more. It currently sits on a staggering 35.4m copies all-time total and is the best-selling racing game of all time in the US.
Modest game updates through 2018 saw Mario Kart 8 Deluxe add support for the Toy-Con Motorbike and Car from Nintendo's various cardboard Labo kits. We also got a smattering of Zelda: Breath of the Wild cosmetics, and support for the Switch Online mobile app.
But since that last small update in January 2019, all has fallen silent.
Mario Kart 8 on Wii U received two expansion packs with new racers and tracks - these are included in the Switch version as the 'Deluxe' part of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe package. Fans had hoped Nintendo would continue to support the Switch version of the game in a similar way, but no new DLC has ever materialised.
Perhaps Nintendo doesn't want to undermine the 'Deluxe' branding by offering optional paid DLC - which could make the game even more Deluxe-r? Perhaps Nintendo just doesn't want my money. Or, perhaps, Nintendo is doing just fine selling Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as-is, four years on, to consider more Mario Kart yet.