Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's third wave of DLC courses will arrive this holiday, and we've gotten a look at two new additions.

During today's Nintendo Direct, we got a look at the Christmas-themed Merry Mountain from Mario Kart Tour, and the leafy Peach Gardens from Mario Kart DS. The Wave 3 pack will come with 8 courses included.

As with the rest of the DLC courses, this will come at no cost for Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack members, but can be bought separately.

The Booster Course DLC packs were announced in March, and will add a total of 48 recreated retro courses to the game. By the end of the packs, that will be 96 courses, over half of all Mario Kart tracks ever released.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Update 11/29/2022: Golf has finally been added to Nintendo Switch Sports with Nintendo confirming the free update is now available to all users.

Previously only confirmed for a Holiday 2022 launch, Nintendo announced on Twitter that Nintendo Switch Sports owners can download the update as of November 29.

The golf mode features 21 holes pulled from Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort alongside the online Survival Golf mode that sees several players compete simultaneously.

Original Story 09/13/2022: Nintendo Switch Sports is far from done, as more sport is on the way: golf will be added to the game at last.

At today's Nintendo Direct, it was revealed that golf is being added to the game in the next free update. It will include 21 holes from the original Wii Sports series, so prepare for a little nostalgia. But that's not all; there's a new online mode - Survival Golf - which sees eight players compete on the same course, at the same time, to stay in a multiplayer golf match. Players are eliminated based on their number of strokes - get the most strokes and you're out.

The update will come a little later than initially expected, though: rather than the initially promise Fall launch, the free DLC will be available from Holiday 2022.

We gave Nintendo Switch Sports a 7 at launch, saying it "successfully recaptures the party game magic of Wii Sports, but quickly falls victim to a lack of depth that holds it back from achieving greatness." It has since seen a summer update that incorporate Ring Fit's leg strap controls, and we more recently learned that entering a special code at a certain point in the game will unlock the most powerful man in existance: Matt.

Catch up on everything announced during today's Nintendo Direct in our roundup right here.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Update - 09/13/2022, 9am: The Xbox remaster of GoldenEye 007 will not include online multiplayer, which will instead be exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version of the game.

As revealed by 007.com, the two versions of GoldenEye, despite being announced at the same time, will not include the same features. The Nintendo version appears to be staying relatively similar to the original, but with the addition of online multiplayer, and will be added as a standard N64 game to the Switch Online library.

The Xbox version, on the other hand, will be a remastered version of the 1997 original with updated controls (meaning modern, dual analogue stick support) and improved graphics and frame rate.

Update - 09/13/2022, 8am: Rare has confirmed that GoldenEye 007 is also coming to Xbox alongside Nintendo Switch following months of rumours.

Confirmed in a tweet (below), the Xbox game isn't confirmed to be the same version as that on Nintendo Switch but will feature achievements, 4K resolution, and a smoother framerate.

GoldenEye 007 has been all but confirmed on Xbox for a long time as fan website True Achievements and even Xbox's own website listed the game's achievements.

25 years after its original release, experience GoldenEye 007 faithfully recreated for Xbox consoles. Includes achievements, 4K resolution and a smoother framerate – even in split-screen local multiplayer! Coming soon to @XboxGamePass. pic.twitter.com/kpBlJKqFR9

— Rare Ltd. (@RareLtd) September 13, 2022

Original Story: Nintendo has announced that its beloved GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64 is coming to Nintendo Switch Online "soon" with official online functionality for the first time ever.

Announced during September's Nintendo Direct, Nintendo revealed a ton of new titles coming to its online subscription package including Pokémon Stadium and Mario Party, before confirming that GoldenEye would also be arriving.

It's unclear exactly when GoldenEye will be released, however, as the handful of new Nintendo 64 games confirmed for the platform are arriving as late as 2023.

Nintendo has been slowly but surely adding titles to its Nintendo Switch Online service for the last few months, releasing various N64 games roughly once a month or so. Its remaining games confirmed for 2022 during the Direct are Pilotwings 64, Mario Party, and Mario Party 2.

As for 2023, Mario Party 3, Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Stadium 2, 1080° Snowboarding, and Excitebike 64 were all announced.

See our full list of Nintendo Direct announcements for more news about upcoming Switch games.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The Atelier Ryza series continues, with a brand new entry announced today entitled Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End and the Secret Key, and it's coming to Switch on February 24, 2023.

During today's Nintendo Direct, we got a look at the first-ever trailer, revealing an open-world RPG with eleven heroes who set off on a journey when strange islands suddenly appear. Of course, it stars Ryza, who with her friends must investigate the situation in order to protect their homeland.

The Atelier series from developer Gust that's been making its way West more frequently in recent years. The stories are frequently lightheated and feature a number of different protagonists, though the Atelier Ryza games obviously have all featured Ryza at their core. The first two games featuring her were Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout in 2019, and Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy in 2020.

While the trailer and press release were light on details, it look like we're getting a first look at the game bright and early tomorrow as a part of Tokyo Game Show on the official Koei Tecmo channel.

For everything else from today's Nintendo Direct, check out IGN's full roundup.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, a new game in the Final Fantasy musical spin-off series, has been announced for Nintendo Switch.

Revealed as part of today's Nintendo Direct, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line will be availale from February 16, 2023. It will feature 385 songs from across the Final Fantasy series, including classics such as FF7's One-Winged Angel and FF XIV's Torn from the Heavens.

Band together and celebrate 35 years of FINAL FANTASY music in THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE, a rhythm action game with 385 stirring songs, coming to #NintendoSwitch on Feb. 16, 2023! #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/1MqQP2voff

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 13, 2022

After release, another 90 extra songs can be found in DLC, which will also include tracks from SaGa series, Nier, Octopath Traveller, and Live A Live. Buying the Digital Deluxe version will net you 442 songs in total (via 27 additional special songs and DLC Season Pass 1), while the Premium Deluxe version includes a total of 502 songs (those same 27 special songs, plus all DLC Season Passes.)

Alongside the classic Theatrhythm mode, Final Bar Line will also feature multiplayer. For local co-op, two players can complete stages in "pair style", while competitive online multiplayer sees four players battle to the beat in online "multi-battles"

Catch up on everything announced during today's Nintendo Direct in our roundup right here.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

The good ol' GameCube got some love during today's Nintendo Direct with the reveal of a remake for Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for the Nintendo Switch, now called Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. It's coming next summer.

The original Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life came out in 2003 for the GameCube, and while it only featured a male protagonist, this remake appears to include the female protagonist from Another Wonderful Life as well. Unlike a number of other Harvest Moon games, A Wonderful Life takes place over a set amount of time, with characters (including the protagonist) aging, and the protagonist's child growing up and choosing a career based on how you influence them over the course of their life.

This new version appears to be largely faithful to the originals, but with significant graphics and music upgrades from the GameCube version. New features will include new events, enhanced festivals, more recipes, and brand new crops, as well as a new camera feature. Here's hoping the remake lets us marry any of the bachelors or bachelorette candidates from either of the first games that we want!

Update: A press release has confirmed you can play as a male, female, or non-binary protagonist and marry any of the bachelors or bachelorettes you want regardless of gender. (Celia, hello)

Way back in the day, we gave A Wonderful Life an 8, saying it was "truly addicting" and praising the new focus on family, growth, and nurturing.

See our full list of Nintendo Direct announcements for more news about upcoming Switch games.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3's second expansion is bringing new quests and a new mechanical hero called Ino to the game on October 13.

Announced during September's Nintendo Direct, Ino's arrival includes a whole new quest line for players to enjoy, the completion of which will add Ino to the party, expanding the gameplay and class options available to the player.

The second expansion - which is available as part of the Season Pass which costs $29.99 / £26.99 - also introduces Challenge Battles to the game for those seeking tougher battles.

Players can fight a series of enemies in a boss rush style mode that awards a variety of rare accessories and special objects for a strong performance.

Two further DLC expansions are included in the Season Pass, the third of which is expected to be released by April 30 next year and includes another new hero, new quests, and more. The fourth and final expansion will be released by the end of 2023 and promises to bring an entire new storyline to the game instead of just random quests.

In our 8/10 review of the main game, IGN said: "Xenoblade Chronicles 3 can take some meandering detours across its massive 150-hour campaign, but great characters and addictive tactical combat make it all well worth the time."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Octopath Traveler, the Square Enix RPG featuring eight protagonists each with their own separate but converging stories, is getting a sequel. It will arrive far sooner than we expected, on February 24, 2023.

Update: A Japanese trailer confirms that Octopath Traveler 2 will not be a Switch exclusive, and will arrive at launch for Switch, PC (via Steam) and PS5/PS4.

Announced at today's Nintendo Direct, Octopath Traveler 2 will feature eight new protagonists, travelling through the world of Solistia - including merchants, scholars, thieves, and more.

We gave the first Octopath Traveler a 9.3 at launch for its "beautiful style and outstanding take on traditional turn-based combat" that "pushed JRPGs forward rather than paying homage to the greats." Though initially a Switch exclusive, it's since found a home on PC, Xbox, and Stadia, and has even gotten a mobile spin-off in Champions of the Continent.

We've technically known about the Octopath sequel announced today since way back in 2019 when Square Enix revealed a new console game was in production, but this is the first we've seen of it since.

See our full list of everything announced at Nintendo Direct for more news.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

It turns out that the Fire Emblem game that leaked several months ago is real after all, and will be called Fire Emblem Engage.

During today's Nintendo Direct, Engage will focus on a new protagonist, Alear, who has a real wild hairstyle. Alear is known as a "divine dragon," and is a member of a royal family that was once revered as deities, but he's been asleep for one thousand years when he awakens at the start of the game.

Notably, characters in Engage appear to be paired in some spiritual way with past Fire Emblem heroes, with Alear paired with Marth. Sigurd and Celica also made appearances. Fire Emblem Engage appears to include elements from Fire Emblem: Three Houses such as its town building and relationship elements as well.

It's planned for release on January 20, 2023, and a "Divine Edition" with collectibles will also be on sale.

Fire Emblem Engage first leaked back in June, with photos of the protagonist's strange red and blue hair and a number of other characters surfacing online. Earlier this year, we gave Omega Force's musou spinoff Fire Emblem: Three Hopes an 8 for being "a true hybrid of Fire Emblem’s social gameplay and Warriors’ battles" that works "despite overstaying its welcome and missing the mark when it comes to the more intimate interactions." And the most recent full Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, got a 9.5 for being "ambitious telling of a land at war helmed by captivating leaders, in which no side has all the answers."

For everything else from today's Nintendo Direct, check out IGN's full roundup.

Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, the Wii entry in the famous survival horror series, is finally coming to the West for the first time.

Announced as part of today's Nintendo Direct, a localised version of Mask of the Lunar Eclipse will be available on Switch early in 2023. This entry follows Ruka Minazuki who, after mysteriously disappearing as a child, explores an abandoned hospital in search of her lost memories. The hospital is, of course, full of all kinds of nasties, which can be repelled with Fatal Frame's classic tool, the camera obscura.

The original version of this fourth game in the Fatal Frame series was released in Japan back in 2008. While a European release was announced, it never made it to the West. This new Switch version, then, marks quite the event for Fatal Frame fans.

For more, catch up on everything announced during today's Nintendo Direct in our roundup right here.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.