With Mario Kart 8 Deluxe standing as one of the best-selling video games of all time, a sequel is inevitable. And while Nintendo tends to stick to releasing one Mario Kart game per console, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe being an enhanced Wii U port means that there's definitely room for a new Mario Kart game to be built from the ground-up for the Switch. Nothing official has been announced at this time, but a video game analyst has said that they are aware of Mario Kart 9 being in active development with a "new twist."
Video game industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto spoke to Gamesindustry, saying Mario Kart 9 is in "active development" and Nintendo may even reveal it later this year. This would be in line with recent rumors about a new Mario Kart game, with leakers saying that the game would be revealed at some point in 2022. It's unclear if 2022 will also be the release date for Mario Kart 9 or not, but it will be interesting to see if these predictions come true.
Dr. Toto added that Mario Kart 9 will have a "new twist," but stopped short of explaining exactly what that twist is. It seems Mario Kart fans will have to wait for an official announcement to be sure, but if there's any truth to the leaks surrounding the game, fans may already have somewhat of an idea of what to expect from it.
The same leak that claimed the new Mario Kart would be revealed in 2022 said that the game would possibly have the subtitle Crossroads and will feature more IP than just Super Mario. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe added Link from The Legend of Zelda and Isabelle from Animal Crossing to the mix, so this is certainly not a new idea, but perhaps if the rumors are true, it will lean much more heavily into the crossover aspect. A Mario Kart game with a crossover roster similar to Super Smash Bros. would certainly be a "new twist" for the franchise, though this is just speculation at this time.
The leaks also claim that if the next Mario Kart game isn't called Mario Kart Crossroads that it will instead be titled Mario Kart 10 as opposed to Mario Kart 9. The logic behind this is that Nintendo may count the Mario Kart Tour mobile game as being the ninth main series entry in the Mario Kart franchise. But again, fans should take this all with a grain of salt until some clarification comes from Nintendo.
Mario Kart 9 is rumored to be in development for the Switch.
Source: Gamesindustry.biz