Rumours arise of Mario Kart 9 ‘in active development’

Nintendo’s ever successful Mario Kart series could be getting its ninth instalment in 2022, according to a game industry consultant. 

In an article published on GamesIndustry.biz, Dr. Serkan Toto, a consultant for Kantan Games, all but confirmed that fans could get a ‘tease’ from Nintendo on the title at some point this year.

Toto stated: “I am aware that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still selling very well on the Nintendo Switch, but Mario Kart 9 is in active development (and comes with a new twist) and Nintendo could tease it this year.

“On mobile, Nintendo has been very silent since Mario Kart Tour’s launch in 2019, but I think 2022 is when we will see an established IP arriving on smart devices again.”

Any potential news on the new Mario Kart title probably won’t be in the near future with any hopes of hearing more on the game to possibly happen in/around E3 2022, which has confirmed it is going online-only again this year due to the omicron variant. 

Looking closely at Toto’s predictions for the past 12 months focusing on Nintendo, Kantan Games’ consultant incorrectly guessed that 2021 would witness the launch of the Switch Pro. Yet, while fans managed to get their hands on the new OLED model, Toto stated his prediction was wrong due to it “not pro enough”.

Toto correctly guessed that the Japanese-based company would “march on” in 2021 as he claimed that, even in 2022, there are “no signs of Nintendo slowing down significantly”.

Focusing on Japan’s gaming infrastructure in 2022, Toto believes that the sector could see Microsoft pull off more deals, similar to its Sega partnership, which the consultant claimed was “one of the biggest steps” in two decades for company trying to integrate Xbox more in Japan.

Toto predicts that Microsoft could invest in a local studio with Kojima Productions said to be a “prime candidate” citing ongoing rumours about a co-development deal for a new game.