Up to eight Nintendo Switch consoles can connect in a local wireless game of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Local wireless play lets nearby Switch systems communicate directly without requiring every player to use the same console screen. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, each connected system can run its own copy of the game and display the race for the player using that console. This differs from split-screen multiplayer, in which several players share one Switch.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe launched on April 28, 2017, as an expanded version of the Wii U game Mario Kart 8. Its local wireless limit is also different from the maximum number of racers in a single online race, which is 12. Those two numbers are frequently mixed up because both describe multiplayer modes.