It’s time for a new Mario Kart game for the Switch OLED, despite Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s continued popularity.
The beloved racer originated on the Wii U in 2014, so it’s high time for a new and improved Mario Kart 9 designed for the latest hardware, right?
While Nintendo tends to take its time with first-party game releases, reports that Mario Kart 9 is “in active development” and could be teased before the year ends have come as a surprise.
According to Dr. Serkan Toto of Kantan Games, who spoke with GamesIndustry.biz, Mario Kart 9 is in active development and promises a “new twist.”
Dr. Toto stated: “I am aware Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still selling very well on the Nintendo Switch, but Mario Kart 9 is in active development (and comes with a new twist) and Nintendo could tease it this year.”
Should Nintendo offer a glimpse of the next Mario Kart game this year, we shouldn’t expect it to be released for a couple of years. For example, Nintendo announced The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel at E3 2019, and it’s scheduled to come out in 2022, although the game still lacks an official name and release date confirmation from Nintendo.
Following this logic, Mario Kart 9 could potentially be released around 2024 or 2025, possibly in conjunction with the launch of the next-generation Nintendo console.
Dr. Toto also suggested that it might be time for Nintendo to introduce another first-party game to mobile platforms, following the launch of Mario Run and Mario Kart Tour.
He added: “On mobile, Nintendo has been very silent since Mario Kart Tour’s launch in 2019, but I think 2022 is when we will see an established IP arriving on smart devices again.”
