Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s third wave of DLC courses, as part of its Booster Course Pass, will introduce eight new tracks, including ones for fall and winter called Maple Treeway and Merry Mountain.
Maple Treeway, from 2008’s Mario Kart Wii, will be tacked-on with Wave 3, which goes live on Dec. 7. The courses included are as follows:
- Tour London Loop – Mario Kart Tour (Mobile)
- Boo Lake – Mario Kart Super Circuit (GBA)
- Rock Rock Mountain – Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
- Maple Treeway – Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
- Berlin Byways – Mario Kart Tour (Mobile)
- Peach Gardens – Mario Kart DS (DS)
- Merry Mountain – Mario Kart Tour (Mobile)
- Rainbow Road – Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass is part of a trend in gaming that turns a title into an ongoing live service. Like Fortnite and Apex Legends, Nintendo will continue adding content to give players more mileage out of its titles. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is also the bestselling Nintendo Switch game so far, beating out Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s not too surprising Nintendo is using paid DLC to maximize its Mario Kart earnings.
Obviously, the Switch has more graphical horsepower than past Nintendo handheld systems, such as the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo 3DS. These courses will get a much-appreciated HD upgrade and Boo Lake will feature an actual lake. On Mario Kart Super Circuit for the GBA, the lake was a dark abyss.
The Booster Course Pass costs $25 and includes all six waves of tracks, which will amount to 48 tracks overall when it ends in late 2023. It’s also available to Switch owners who subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack, which costs $50 a year and includes online gameplay plus other free games.
