The Mario Kart games are some of the best-selling and most-popular titles ever made, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe smashing series sales records on the Nintendo Switch. Since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was an enhanced re-release of a Wii U game, many fans have been hoping for a new Mario Kart game built from the ground-up for the Switch, and while Nintendo hasn't made any announcements to that effect, the latest rumors suggest that it could be revealed this year.

According to Twitter account LeakyPandy, it's possible that a new Mario Kart game could be revealed in 2022 that will either be called Mario Kart 10 or Mario Kart Crossroads. Some Mario Kart fans may be confused by that proposed title, as there was never a Mario Kart 9. However, it seems that if there's any truth to this rumor, Nintendo must count the mobile game Mario Kart Tour as a main series entry and therefore it would effectively be Mario Kart 9.

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The other interesting tidbit about a potential new Mario Kart game is that it will apparently feature multiple IP. The Mario Kart series has stuck pretty strictly to Super Mario characters until the latest entry, which introduced Animal Crossing's Isabelle and The Legend of Zelda's Link to the mix. It would make sense for the next Mario Kart game to explore that idea further and add even more non-Super Mario characters, though fans should keep their expectations in check. No concrete evidence for a new Mario Kart game has been presented and it's entirely possible that there's no truth to this leak.

Other games mentioned in the leak are a new Xenoblade game that will apparently be an action-adventure title as opposed to a main series RPG. Star Wars Rogue Squadron 4 developed by Crytek and a new Pikmin game developed by Next Level Games are also mentioned. Again, there's no evidence to back up these claims, and so it's best if fans take this information with a massive grain of salt until an official announcement comes - if one ever does.

Nintendo fans will want to keep an eye on E3 2022 to see if there's any truth to these claims, but it's also possible that the announcements could come earlier in the year as well. Rumors are swirling that a Nintendo Direct event is going to happen at some point between now and February 17. Nintendo has traditionally hosted Nintendo Direct events around this time, so it would make sense, but fans will just have to wait and see what happens.

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