Throughout the next two years, Nintendo will slowly add 48 new courses to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. But these courses only unlock when you buy the Booster Course Pass DLC or subscribe to Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Thankfully, there’s a way to try the courses for free.
As explained by Nintendo, all customers can play “booster” courses using the regional or global online multiplayer modes. The game’s online multiplayer system regularly rotates its selection of courses, though, so you’ll play the tracks at random. (Only eight new courses have been added to Mario Kart 8 at the time of writing.)
You can also access the new courses when playing with friends, so long as one of those friends has the Booster Course Pass. This works whether you’re joining a friend for an online or local match.
It seems that Nintendo is simply including its new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe courses with the game’s latest update (version 2.0.0 at the time of writing). Purchasing the DLC simply lets you access these courses without playing multiplayer mode.
Again, Nintendo plans to roll out new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe courses until the end of 2023. Each course “drop” will include eight tracks, which are pulled from older games in the series.