First Track, Three Characters Revealed for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass Wave 5 - Hardcore Gamer

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While the ever-growing base of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players have come to expect two cups with four new tracks each for each of the waves of the Booster Course Pass, the last wave was the first to include a new character, with Birdo joining the roster of racers.

As a result of this addition, a new column was added to the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe character selection screen leaving five question mark spots beneath Birdo, which seemingly teased that the final two planned waves of the Booster Course Pass would fill out the remaining spots with five new characters. While speculation ran wild among the Mario Kart communities on whether these openings would be populated with returning fan favorites or first time appearances, Nintendo has now confirmed three of those characters alongside a look at the first original track that will be part of the Booster Course Pass Wave 5.

During yesterday’s Nintendo Direct, it was revealed that Petey Piranha from Mario Kart Double Dash, Wiggler from Mario Kart 7 and Kamek from Mario Kart Tour would all be joining the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe roster as playable drivers. In addition, Squeaky Clean Sprint, which appears to be a course set in a bathroom with soap, water and other obstacles sprayed throughout, will be the first original track in Wave 5, alongside seven other tracks that are yet to be confirmed, but will likely be mostly comprised of returning courses from past games. Despite the last wave launching over three months ago, Wave 5 is still without a release date at this point in time, with the below trailer ending with a Summer 2023 release window.

This likely leaves the sixth and final wave with a Fall or early Winter 2023 release window, as the Booster Course Pass has been advertised since its