Nintendo has released a major new update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The headlining feature of the update is that it now gives players the option to have custom items in their races.
How it works is that in offline VS races and certain online modes, players can now select specifically which items can appear in a race. This can range from simple options like All On, All Off, or Random, to a more granular option like allowing for only a few items to show up in a race.
A great example of this is the ability to set up a race where the only items that spawn in the entirety of the race is the much-dreaded Blue Shell, allowing all racers to attack the player in the first position.
For the team-based game modes in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe like Team Races and Battles, players can also set it up so that a certain team can only get certain items. For example, the red team can only get the Fire Flower, while the blue team can only get boomerang.
The custom items update has been released for free for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch.