6 years later, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe patch finally removes controversial "bagging" strategy

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Finally, no more deliberate hanging back

Mario Kart 8
(Image credit: Nintendo)

What could be Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's final update has patched out a controversial strategy called "bagging."

Firstly, what is bagging? It's a trick employed by devious racers at the start of a race, whereby the driver doesn't progress, or sometimes even drives backwards. It's basically an attempt to accrue a massive amount of powerful items while you're so far behind, enabling an epic comeback once you get going. It's a risky strategy and not one that's widely beloved among the community.

Just below, you can see evidence of the strategy being removed. The player tries out bagging by deliberately messing around on the GBA Cheese Land track, only to be greeted with a little green shell for all their troubles. That'll surely kill the bagging trend instantly.

Bagging has existed since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe first launched in 2017, so well over six years now. You'd think if Nintendo was aware of the trick, it'd probably have patched out the entire thing by now, but if update 3.0.0 is meant to ensure the longevity of the racing game, removing bagging goes a long way to guarantee that.

Keep an eye on our upcoming Switch games guide for a look ahead at all the Nintendo-exclusive games launching this year and beyond.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.