Announced during the latest Nintendo Direct it was confirmed that Birdo will make an appearance in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the next wave in the Booster Pass DLC rollout. The Booster Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will add an additional 48 tracks to the base game by the end of 2023.
Mario Kart 8 started life on the Wii U in 2014, before being ported over to the more popular console early in the Switch’s lifespan. As confirmed during Nintendo’s recent sales update, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is currently the top-selling Switch game, with an incredible 52 million units sold as of December 31, 2022. Thanks to the game’s success, the fourth wave of new content is due sometime in "Spring 2023."
While the date has yet to be fully confirmed, Nintendo teased fans that Wave 4 of DLC for Mario Kart 8 will see the return of the iconic villain, Birdo. The egg-spitting boss was last playable in Mario Kart Wii, so fans will undoubtedly be happy to see her back in action, and marks the first new character to debut as part of the MK8 Deluxe Booster Pass. Players will be able to race in their standard pink color or choose from a variety of different guises including green and orange.
Along with the announcement of the first new character for the expansion pass, Nintendo also gave fans a glimpse of a brand-new course in the form of Yoshi’s Island. The short segment showcases the new track and includes characters from the Yoshi’s Island series including a giant Nep-Enut that looms in the ocean in the background. The track is the second original course designed for the expansion pass, the first being Sky-High Sundae which featured in the second wave of content.
While players wait to see the remaining tracks for the upcoming DLC, the Japanese giant is continuing to support the game, as a recent 2.2.1 update for Mario Kart 8 was released, addressing some of its lingering issues.
The news of Mario Kart 8’s additional DLC wasn’t the only takeaway from the Nintendo Direct as it was finally confirmed that Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games are now available to active Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. As part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription, players can now download classic Game Boy titles from Nintendo’s rich back catalog. Gamers who subscribe to the Expansion Pack tier have the additional benefit of being able to play GBA games as well as unlocking the Booster Pass DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at no extra cost.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available now for Nintendo Switch.