Nintendo Switch 2’s Mario Kart shouldn’t be called Mario Kart 9

The presentation video for the Nintendo Switch 2, released on January 17, 2025 after persistent leaks, was short, but sufficient to discover the design of the console and a preview of the next Mario Kart. Everything suggests, in fact, that the Switch 2 will be accompanied by a new opus of this cult saga when it is released in France.

What will this new Mario Kart be called? We hear a lot about a Mario Kart 9as if to follow on from Mario Kart 8published on Wii U then ported in Deluxe version to Switch (it is the console’s best seller). However, we tend to forget that this Mario Kart expected on Switch 2 is not the ninth episode, but the tenth.

The Mario Kart game for the Switch 2 will be the tenth episode of the saga

Why wouldn’t the Switch 2’s Mario Kart game be called Mario Kart 9, but the Switch’s Mario Kart is called Mario Kart 8 ? It would be forgetting that an episode was released later Mario Kart 8 : Mario Kart Touradaptation for smartphone. And, as recalled by this message published on X (formerly Twitter) on January 19 by the specialist account Mario Kart Actu, Mario Kart Tour is considered “canon” in the saga. According to the chronology, this would therefore be the ninth game.

We also recall that environments of Mario Kart Tour were integrated into Mario Kart 8 Deluxevia the Additional Circuit Pass. This is proof of its importance in the eyes of Nintendo: it leaves a legacy, even if it is no longer powered by updates available on iOS and Android.

Here is the complete history of the Mario Kart saga :

• Super Mario Kart (Super Nintendo, 1992)
• Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64, 1996)
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA, 2001)
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GameCube, 2003)
• Mario Kart DS (Nintendo DS, 2005)
• Mario Kart Wii (Wii, 2008)
• Mario Kart 7 (3DS, 2011)
• Mario Kart 8 (Wii U, 2014), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch, 2017)
• Mario Kart Tour (2019)

Added to this are the titles released on arcade machines (Mario Kart Arcade GP 1, 2 & DX) et Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit — which allows you to create a track at home, with a toy that you control with the Switch. These adaptations are not canon.

Note that Nintendo has not always attached a number to its cult saga. The manufacturer could very well call it Mario Kart Switch. It would even be logical: Mario Kart 8 Deluxedespite its immense generosity in content, was not originally designed for the Switch. This would also avoid confusion for a less knowledgeable public, who would not understand why we would go from 8 to 10. But, no one can predict what Nintendo has in mind. See you on April 2 for a more complete presentation of the Switch 2 and its games.