Update of September 21, 2026: nine years after arriving on Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to enjoy exceptional commercial longevity. The phenomenon has become even more interesting since the release of Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2.
As of June 30, 2026, Nintendo reports 71.53 million copies sold of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe worldwide. Its successor, Mario Kart World, has already reached 15.39 million units. Yet the older game did not disappear when the new one arrived. In France, it was still among the best-selling physical games of the entire year in 2025.
How can a game launched on Switch in April 2017 remain so visible almost a decade later? The answer goes far beyond nostalgia. It lies in Nintendo Switch's enormous installed base, local multiplayer, a now-substantial amount of content and, above all, a distinctive Nintendo strategy: turning certain games into catalog titles capable of selling across multiple generations of players.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe surpasses 71 million sales
The first thing to examine is, of course, the sales figure. According to Nintendo's financial data published on June 30, 2026, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has reached 71.53 million copies sold worldwide.
It therefore remains the best-selling Nintendo Switch game, ahead of Animal Crossing: New Horizons with 50.29 million, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with 38.14 million and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with 34.06 million.
| Game | Worldwide sales |
|---|---|
| Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | 71.53 million |
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | 50.29 million |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | 38.14 million |
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | 34.06 million |
| Super Mario Odyssey | 30.80 million |
Source: Nintendo consolidated financial data, cumulative worldwide sales as of June 30, 2026. The figures notably include downloadable versions and copies distributed with certain products or consoles.
What makes Mario Kart's case particularly interesting is therefore no longer simply its initial success. It is the game's ability to continue finding new players long after its release.
A 2017 game still among France's best-selling titles
The French results confirm this longevity. According to SELL's 2025 report, compiled from GSD data, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold a further 177,045 physical copies in France during 2025.
The game therefore ranked eighth in physical unit sales across all consoles, ahead of many much more recent releases. These figures do not include digital sales and exclude bundles, so they do not represent every copy purchased during the year.
This result is probably one of the best examples of what makes Nintendo's catalog distinctive. A game can leave the traditional media cycle while continuing to be purchased years later by new console owners, families or players joining the ecosystem late.
Why Mario Kart World has not made Mario Kart 8 Deluxe disappear
Since June 5, 2025, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has nevertheless had a true successor: Mario Kart World, launched alongside Nintendo Switch 2.
The new installment significantly changes the formula. Nintendo offers a vast interconnected world, areas that can be explored more freely and races that can bring together up to 24 drivers online. As of June 30, 2026, Mario Kart World had already reached 15.39 million copies sold.
But the two games do not target exactly the same console base. Mario Kart World is a Nintendo Switch 2 title, while Mario Kart 8 Deluxe accompanied the original Switch for almost its entire commercial life.
| Criteria | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Mario Kart World |
|---|---|---|
| Original console | Nintendo Switch | Nintendo Switch 2 |
| Release | April 28, 2017 | June 5, 2025 |
| Sales as of June 30, 2026 | 71.53 million | 15.39 million |
| Online multiplayer | Up to 12 players | Up to 24 players |
| Distinctive feature | Very broad selection of traditional tracks | Interconnected world and exploration |
Mario Kart World is therefore the series' new generation, but its existence does not instantly make the previous installment obsolete. The two games belong to ecosystems whose sizes remain very different.
Nintendo Switch's enormous installed base changes everything
This is probably the most important factor in understanding Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's longevity.
As of June 30, 2026, Nintendo says it had sold 156.59 million Nintendo Switch consoles worldwide. On the same date, Nintendo Switch 2 had reached 23.68 million units.
The new console's rapid success therefore does not make the huge population equipped with the original Switch disappear overnight. Tens of millions of consoles remain in homes, circulate through the second-hand market or are used by several members of the same family.
For a game as recognizable as Mario Kart, this installed base is a considerable advantage. A family buying a Switch late, a child receiving their first console or a new player looking for an immediately accessible multiplayer title may still see Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the obvious choice.
The transition between two generations therefore becomes gradual rather than abrupt.
Game.fr is also tracking the evolution of the new machine in our feature on Nintendo Switch 2 production and sales.
An immediately understandable, family-friendly game
Mario Kart's second advantage is that it can be understood within seconds. Accelerate, steer and use an item: the fundamental rules are simple enough for a beginner to join in almost immediately.
This accessibility does not prevent a genuine skill curve. Track knowledge, racing lines, drifting, item management and shortcuts provide enough depth to retain much more experienced players.
This combination allows Mario Kart to bring extremely different types of players together around the same screen. A child can play with their parents, a casual player with a series veteran or several friends with vastly different skill levels.
Local multiplayer plays a decisive role here. On Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe allows several people to play on the same console and up to eight players to connect locally over wireless. It can also host up to twelve participants online.
At a time when much of multiplayer gaming has moved online, the ability to function as an immediately recognizable living-room game remains a significant strength.
A catalog that has grown huge over the years
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also benefits from an advantage it did not possess to the same extent at launch: its content has grown considerably.
The base game already offered 48 tracks. The Booster Course Pass added 48 more from different entries in the series, along with eight additional characters.
With the additional content, players can access 96 tracks. This quantity gradually turns Mario Kart 8 Deluxe into a kind of compilation spanning several generations of Mario Kart.
It includes tracks inspired by or taken from older games on Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and even Mario Kart Tour.
This approach strengthens two audiences at once: new players discover an enormous amount of content, while longtime fans rediscover tracks associated with memories of earlier installments.
Why Nintendo games age differently
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is not, however, an entirely isolated phenomenon. Nintendo has several games whose sales remain significant long after launch.
The strategy differs from that of franchises built around a new annual installment. Nintendo can keep the same Mario Kart, Mario Party, Animal Crossing or Super Smash Bros. as the reference title in its category for several years of a console generation.
The absence of an annual replacement also limits the risk of making the previous installment instantly obsolete. When a player buys Mario Kart 8 Deluxe several years after its release, they do not find that a new annual game has already moved the entire community elsewhere.
There is also the strength of licenses capable of reaching multiple generations. Mario, Zelda, Pokémon and Animal Crossing do not rely solely on current relevance: their characters and worlds remain easily recognizable to players who may have discovered Nintendo decades apart.
Mario is not an isolated case at Nintendo
Nintendo's financial data shows that several Switch games have reached sales volumes rarely seen for exclusives within a single console family.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has surpassed 50 million copies. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has surpassed 38 million, Breath of the Wild 34 million and Super Mario Odyssey 30 million.
SELL's 2025 French report also offers an interesting example: Animal Crossing: New Horizons, released in 2020, still recorded 87,001 physical sales in France that year. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder also remained in the annual physical Top 20.
It would therefore be excessive to claim that Nintendo systematically dominates every sales chart. New releases from Electronic Arts, Activision, Ubisoft and other publishers regularly occupy the top positions.
Nintendo's distinctive strength lies elsewhere: several of its titles retain an unusual commercial presence long after launch.
Can Mario Kart 8 Deluxe keep selling despite Mario Kart World?
Yes, but its role is changing.
Mario Kart World is now the installment designed for the new Nintendo Switch 2 generation, and its sales already show that it occupies a central place in the console's lineup. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe therefore no longer represents the series' technological future.
However, its enormous potential player base, track catalog, local multiplayer and name recognition allow it to remain relevant to Nintendo Switch owners.
That is precisely what distinguishes a launch success from a true evergreen. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe did not merely have an excellent first year: it became a catalog product that new generations of players continue to discover.
The most interesting thing to watch now will be the transition. Mario Kart World could gradually become for Switch 2 what Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was for the original Switch. But with more than 71 million copies already sold, the older installment has set an exceptionally high bar.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe video
Gameplay de Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sur Nintendo Switch
FAQ: Mario Kart and Nintendo sales
How many copies of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe have been sold?
Nintendo reports 71.53 million copies sold worldwide as of June 30, 2026. It is the best-selling Nintendo Switch game at that date.
Is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still selling in France?
Yes. According to SELL's 2025 report based on GSD data, 177,045 physical copies were still sold in France during 2025. The game ranked eighth in the annual physical sales chart by volume across all consoles.
Does Mario Kart World replace Mario Kart 8 Deluxe?
Mario Kart World is the new main installment developed for Nintendo Switch 2. However, it does not immediately make Mario Kart 8 Deluxe disappear, because the older game remains associated with the enormous installed base of Nintendo Switch consoles.
How many copies has Mario Kart World sold?
As of June 30, 2026, Nintendo reports 15.39 million copies sold worldwide, including copies distributed with certain hardware bundles.
Why do Nintendo games often continue selling several years after release?
Several factors combine: licenses known across generations, a broad family audience, a large console base, games that are rarely replaced by a new annual installment and concepts that rely more on their gameplay mechanics than on a constant race toward technical realism.
Sources and methodology
Primary sources: Nintendo's official financial data as of June 30, 2026, for console and software sales; Nintendo for the features of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Booster Course Pass and Mario Kart World; SELL and the GSD panel for French physical sales during 2025.
Methodology: Nintendo's worldwide figures are cumulative sales reported by the publisher and may include digital versions as well as certain copies associated with bundles. The French figures cited come from the SELL/GSD physical market and exclude bundles. The two data sets should therefore not be compared as though they used exactly the same methodology.
