Mario Kart has been around since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. However, after Mario Kart 8, we have been waiting for the next mainline installment. Mario Kart 8 was released on the Nintendo Wii U. Since that console didn’t last very long, we eventually saw Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a remastered edition, come for the Nintendo Switch. After that, however, fans have been waiting on Mario Kart 9.
When I point out Mario Kart 9, I mean the next mainline installment. Nintendo might consider Mario Kart Live Home Circuit as Mario Kart 9, but fans want the next traditional installment. There have been rumors popping up online that suggest Nintendo is gearing up for the next major release. However, nothing has been officially unveiled at the moment. So instead, we only have new details that came out through an industry insider.
Thanks to LeakyPanda, we might have insight into what the next Mario Kart game will entail. We have already seen some crossovers with Splatoon and The Legend of Zelda in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. However, the industry insider claims that more Nintendo IPs will be present.
Likewise, the crossovers won’t be just the characters either. We can expect more crossovers for items and maps. There will also apparently be a change to the items as players might be dealing with just a single item slot rather than two. Likewise, there will be small and big boxes to collect. The smaller boxes will have single items like one green shell or a mushroom, while larger boxes will have bigger items like a star or multiple shells. With that said, it does seem like players can potentially upgrade their small box items by hitting another box later on in the course if you still have the item in your slot. Of course, none of this is official, and you can take the information as nothing more than a rumor for now.