Rumor: Potential Mario Kart 9 Gameplay Details Leak Online

 A new leak offers additional details about the direction Nintendo is supposedly taking Mario Kart with its rumored next installment.

While a new Mario Kart game has not been officially announced or confirmed, more details about the rumored next installment of the long-running series have started circulating online. Of course, there's even some confusion over whether or not the next game in the franchise should even be referred to as Mario Kart 9, Mario Kart 10 or Mario Kart Crossroads.

The confusion over whether or not this new game is going to be called Mario Kart 9 or not is born from the fact that Nintendo internally views Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit as MK9. There's also bound to be a bit of confusion considering that the Nintendo Switch version of Mario Kart that landed on the Switch technically didn't get its own number but was just a remastering and updating of MK8 called Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. What does appear to be clear from the latest rumors is that no matter what it's called, the Switch will be getting another entry in the franchise before too long.

When it comes to that next installment, industry insider Leaky Panda has provided some supposed details about what people can expect when it arrives. The leaker posted several of those details on Twitter with the biggest tidbit being that what could be Mario Kart 9 will have Mario and adjacent characters but also characters from Star Fox, Pikmin, The Legend of Zelda, Kid Icarus, Splatoon and many other IPs.

Characters aren't supposed to be the only crossovers in what could be Mario Kart 9. Items and courses could also be coming from game universes other than what people know from the Mario games.

The leaker also said that one of the big changes to Mario Kart 9 will not only be the vehicles but also that there won't be coins in this particular entry. It's said there will also only be one item slot and that those slots will either be able to house a big (three shells, or a star) or small (a single shell or a mushroom) item type. There's also supposedly a way to upgrade the small items by passing through a box and turning it into a large item.

Of course, Nintendo has not confirmed that Mario Kart 9 is actually coming anytime soon. Nor has it confirmed what kind of characters, courses or other game rules are going to be included in whatever the next installment in the series will be, so all of this info should be taken with a grain of salt.

Mario Kart 9 is rumored to be in development.