Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Having Online Maintenance Today

Nintendo’s ridiculously popular racing game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be undergoing maintenance today according to the company’s US Twitter account. The Nintendo Switch game will be unavailable for online play for a few hours, with offline mode still perfectly accessible.

Nintendo of America tweeted out earlier today, “On Jan. 25 from 4:30 PM to 9:00 PM PT, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will undergo expected and standard maintenance. Online Play features will not be available during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.” The company specified that the updates are just “standard maintenance” so it is unlikely that players can expect any exciting surprises.

The Mario Kart franchise has been making headlines of late due to several rumors surrounding Mario Kart 9. There have been reports that the game is in “active development” and will include a “twist” according to a Nintendo leaker. Some industry insiders have even claimed that the next installment of Mario Kart will be more of a crossover title similar to Super Smash Bros, with rumors saying characters from popular Nintendo games such as Arms, Pikmin, and Star Fox will be included. Possible titles thrown around for the unannounced game have been Mario Kart 9, Mario Kart 10, and Mario Kart Crossroads.

While fans await Mario Kart 9, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is here and is still incredibly popular despite its original version releasing in 2014. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling game in the franchise, having sold 38.74 million copies as of last year. With how well the game continues to be, it’s not surprising fans haven’t had a true sequel to Mario Kart 7 for eight years.

Play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch, just not online today from 4:30 PM to 9:00 PM PT. Who is your go-to character in the kart racing game?

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