‘Mario Kart 8’ is getting its fourth wave of courses next week

Nintendo has announced a release date for Wave 4 of Mario Kart 8‘s downloadable content (DLC) courses, revealing eight tracks and a returning racer that’s coming to the game.

In a trailer published today (March 2), Nintendo confirmed that Wave 4 of the Booster Course Pass will be released on March 9.

The trailer also confirmed that the following eight courses will be featured in the DLC, including seven maps that are returning from other Mario Kart games and one entirely new map.

• Amsterdam Drift (Mario Kart Tour)
• Riverside Park (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)
• DK’s Snowboard Cross (Mario Kart Wii)
• Yoshi’s Island (all-new)
• Bangkok Rush (Mario Kart Tour)
• Mario Circuit (Mario Kart DS)
• Waluigi Stadium (Mario Kart: Double Dash)
• Singapore Speedway (Mario Kart Tour)

In the below trailer, you can watch all eight of the maps in action:

Additionally, the trailer also reveals that Birdo – a character from the Super Mario Bros. series and a mainstay in many of Mario’s sporting spin-offs – will make her Mario Kart 8 debut in Wave 4.

Mario Kart 8‘s wave-based DLC launches were announced in February 2022, and have been slowly released since then. At the time, Nintendo shared that the racing game would be updated with new courses until 2023.

Months after the Booster Course Pass was announced, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe producer Kosuke Yabuki explained what made the series so popular.

“Generally speaking, you’re not trying to hinder your opponent in racing games, but in Mario Kart, you spend races throwing shells at them and trying to make them slip on banana peels. Those unique tactics are the core of Mario Kart’s appeal,” shared Ybuki.

“It’s both an accessible and deep game. There are people who only play the game on Christmas or New Year’s, while others work to improve their skills every day,” they continued. “We’re always mindful of balancing the experience for both types of players.”

In other gaming news, Sonic The Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka has admitted there is “no doubt” he committed insider trading.