Mario Kart 8 and its upgraded Mario Kart 8 Deluxe have been huge successes for Nintendo, but it appears a successor is finally speeding toward the development finish line. According to a game industry consultant, Mario Kart 9 is in the works and will include a "new twist," as if we expected anything less from Nintendo.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Kantan Games consultant Dr. Serkan Toto gave several predictions for 2022, but one of them was more of an inside scoop than a prediction. Toto said Mario Kart 9 is in development now, and noted that Mario Kart as a brand has been relatively quiet since the mobile-only Mario Kart Tour launched a few years ago.

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"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," he said.

With the Nintendo Switch already approaching its five-year anniversary, would this new game appear on the Switch or would it come to whatever system is planned next? That remains to be seen, as does Nintendo's confirmation of the game's existence, but it would be unlike the company to have more than one Mario Kart game on a system. That has never happened before, with the SNES, GBA, N64, GameCube, DS, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, and Switch all only receiving one game, unless you count the physical kart spin-off Mario Kart Live. However, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe--which has sold nearly 39 million units--was an upgraded version of the Wii U version, so it's possible Nintendo will make an exception.

As for the twist, well, we can only guess what Nintendo could be cooking up. Previous games have introduced dual-passenger vehicles (Double Dash), gliding (Mario Kart 7), and anti-gravity (Mario Kart 8). If we do hear more on the game, it will possibly be around E3--if that even happens this year.