You don’t have to buy the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass to race on its tracks online

gamepur.com:

Those looking to buy the incoming Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass might want to have another think whether it’s worth it. It turns out that all of the 48 tracks included as part of the DLC will be free to play for everyone online whether you own the expansion or not.

A look at the fine print of the official eShop listing of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC tells you that “from March 22, courses from wave 1 will also appear in the Random selection when playing Global or Regional races with anyone online.” This means that anyone playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe online can race on the new DLC courses, appearing randomly.

You will still need to purchase the Booster Course Pass if you want to race on the new tracks in local multiplayer, playing online with friends (just one person needs to own the DLC), and single-player modes, however. Anyone who owns the Switch Online Expansion Pack, meanwhile, will have access immediately to the first wave of the DLC and its eight tracks.

The first wave (of six) of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass DLC will release on March 18, 2022. Anyone who hasn’t bought it will be able to race on its tracks online (albeit with random selection) from March 22, 2022.