# Mario Kart 8 Just Got a Game-Changing Update for Nintendo Switch 2

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/mario-kart-8-just-got-a-game-changing-update-for-nintendo-switch-2/
- Published: 2026-09-02T14:37:31+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-02T20:43:41+00:00
- Original publisher: Polygon
- Original article: https://www.polygon.com/mario-kart-8-deluxe-switch-2-update-patch-notes-nintendo/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Gaming, Software, Technology

## Key points

- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe gains native Nintendo Switch 2 support nine years on
- Split-screen multiplayer doubles to eight players on one screen
- New "96 Races" endurance mode added for Booster Course Pass owners

## Summary

Nintendo has released a surprise update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, adding native Nintendo Switch 2 support nearly a decade after the game's original 2017 launch. The headline change is a doubling of split-screen capacity to eight players on a single Switch 2 screen, up from four on the original Switch, alongside clearer visuals, faster loading and a small speed boost. It marks unusually long-lived support for one of Nintendo's best-selling titles, which has sold roughly 71 million copies, and hints that Nintendo may continue backing its library well beyond initial release, potentially setting a precedent for titles such as Mario Kart World.

Eight-player split-screen requires up to seven connected controllers, either Joy-Cons or Switch Pro Controllers, plus at least one Joy-Con 2 or Switch 2 Pro Controller, and the update also adds CameraPlay support. Player speed has risen by the equivalent of one coin, and owners of the Booster Course Pass gain a new "96 Races" endurance mode covering every course in the base game and its six-wave DLC. Mario Kart 8 originally launched on Wii U in 2014 before being reissued as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Switch in 2017, making this the latest chapter in an unusually long support run for the franchise.

## Coverage

- [Polygon: Mario Kart 8 Just Got a Game-Changing Update for Nintendo Switch 2](https://www.polygon.com/mario-kart-8-deluxe-switch-2-update-patch-notes-nintendo/)
- [GamesRadar+: Mario Kart 8 gets major Switch 2 update, leaving Mario Kart World in the dust and further solidifying the 12-year-old racing game as Nintendo's favorite child](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/super-mario/mario-kart-8-gets-major-switch-2-update-leaving-mario-kart-world-in-the-dust-and-further-solidifying-the-12-year-old-racing-game-as-nintendos-favorite-child/)
- [IGN: Eight-Player Splitscreen Added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe](https://www.ign.com/articles/eight-player-splitscreen-added-to-mario-kart-8-deluxe)
- [Engadget: Nintendo's surprise free update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch 2 includes eight-player split-screen](https://www.engadget.com/2249394/nintendo-free-update-mario-kart-8-deluxe-switch-2-includes-eight-player-split-screen/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.