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How to play Mario Kart 8 online with friends

Jesse Lennox
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Multiplayer games began as purely local events. If you wanted to play with, or against, your friends, there was no other option than to get together either at someone's house or, if you're going even further back in time, at a local arcade. While playing locally is still a great way to play, it isn't always an option. Online multiplayer is not only more convenient most of the time, but it has become the norm for nearly all modern multiplayer games.

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Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • Mario Kart 8

  • Nintendo Switch Online subscription

  • Internet connection

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is not only one of the most popular games on the Nintendo Switch but also one of the best games to play with friends. This fun racer is appropriate for gamers of all ages and skill levels, making it just as popular today as it was back when it launched on the WiiU. Thanks to online play, the competition never has to end. However, Nintendo has yet to really make its online service as intuitive as it is on other platforms, leading to some confusion about how to party up with your friends. If you want to do some laps with your friends online in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, here's how to set it all up.

Further reading

The online menu in Mario Kart 8.

How to play Mario Kart 8 online with friends

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is great fun alone, but eventually, playing against the AI will get stale. That's when playing against your friends comes in to add some much-needed variety and challenge to your races. When friends are far away, though, local multiplayer isn't an option, and you need to jump online to burn some rubber together. Here's how to get set up to play with friends online in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Step 1: Boot up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and select Online play from the main menu.

Step 2: Select Friends.

Related

Step 3: Select Create room and select your character.

Creating a room in Mario Kart 8.

Step 4: Any friends will now be able to join your room. Unfortunately, you cannot directly invite your friends to join your room in the game itself.

How to join friends online

If your friend is the one to set up the room to play online, joining is quite simple.

Step 1: Follow the same steps as before up until you are on the Create Room screen.

Joining a friend online in Mario Kart 8.

Step 2: Under the Friends tab, any friend you have currently in a lobby will have a checkered flag icon next to their name.

Step 3: Select that friend and hit Join.

In addition to regular races and cups, you can also host Tournaments online with your friends as well. This is done just like creating a lobby, only Tournaments will require a code that you pass along to friends in order for them to join you.

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Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox
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