Launched over 12 years ago for the WiiU before eventually being ported to the Nintendo Switch in it’s more recognisable “Deluxe” form, Mario Kart 8 is the arcade kart racer that keeps on giving. Out of nowhere, and in spite of the existence of last year’s sequel, Mario Kart World, Nintendo has just dropped a substantial (and free) update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe that adds a bunch of enhancements and features for those playing the game on Switch 2 hardware.
Chief among these is the ability to play the game in an eight-player split screen format. Yes, eight folks all sharing the real estate of one screen – hope you’ve got a big telly and a lot of spare Joy-Con controllers on hand!
The update also enhances the game’s output resolution to suit the Switch 2 display and higher-resolution TVs, as well as shortens load times getting into races or battles, which is great stuff
Finally, CameraPlay support has been added so that you can display the feed from your compatible Switch 2 camera and show your face during races – naturally, if you want to do this online you’ll need to be in a GameChat session with friends.
It’s a lot of the same stuff we saw just a day ago with the free Switch 2 update for Pikmin 3 Deluxe, although the player count upgrade for Mario Kart is arguably much more impactful than the other bits. It seems like Nintendo is on a spree with digging into its WiiU-turned-Switch-turned-Switch-2 catalogue.
Here are the full patch notes courtesy of the Nintendo Support page:
Latest update: Ver. 4.0.0 (Released September 1, 2026)
Support for the Nintendo Switch 2 system
- Added support for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs, allowing for clearer visuals.
- Shortened the loading time before races and battles begin.
- Added support for 5–8 players in Multiplayer.
- You can connect up to seven Nintendo Switch controllers (Joy-Con or Nintendo Switch Pro Controllers) to the Nintendo Switch 2 system. In order to play with eight people, you need at least one Joy-Con 2 controller or a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller.
- Added CameraPlay support.
- A USB camera (sold separately) is required to use CameraPlay.
- Players can turn camera ON or OFF in Multiplayer (2-4 players) and Online Play modes.
- In order to use a camera on the internet, players must participate in a GameChat session. The camera footage and microphone audio will be sent only to GameChat members.
- When the camera is ON, the player’s face is displayed during the race.
General
- Increased player speed during races by the equivalent of one coin.
- Players will not slow down while using Boo to become invisible, even when entering an offroad area.
- Players with access to the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass will have “96 Races” added to the “VS Race” rule settings.
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Born into the world of video games through SEGA, and in particular Sonic the Hedgehog, Kieron’s gaming tastes now consist of the latest, shiny AAA thing, an indie darling or two, and an embarrassing number of hours of Balatro.