Nintendo to wind down Mario Kart Tour mobile game

The end could be nigh for the racing game after it was revealed it would stop receiving new content from next month
Mario Kart Tour was released for iOS and Android in 2019 as a free download
Nintendo
Saqib Shah12 September 2023

After arriving with a bang, Mario Kart Tour appears to have hit the skids.

The mobile game based on Nintendo’s hit racing series will stop getting new content from October 4. While the game will continue to remain active, it won’t receive new courses, drivers, karts or gliders following its current Battle Tour.

Players learned of the phaseout through a message shared by the title’s developer, Japanese firm DeNA.

Mario Kart Tour was one of the leading lights in Nintendo’s troubled mobile gaming push. The free-to-play game allows players to control characters like Mario, Bowser, Luigi and Peach as they race karts through world locations such as London, New York and Paris.

At first, it seemed like Nintendo had a monstrous hit on its hands. Eager players overwhelmed Mario Kart Tour’s servers upon its launch in 2019, stopping some people from accessing the game.

But its initial success was quickly overshadowed by controversy surrounding Nintendo’s monetisation of the game. Like the company’s other mobile efforts, Mario Kart Tour used a controversial gaming tactic known as loot boxes, whereby players could pay to unlock random characters and vehicles.

As a result, Nintendo opted not to release the game in Brussels, where loot boxes are banned. Mario Kart Tour’s freemium model was also roundly bashed by reviewers, who branded it a cynical cash grab that zapped the fun out of the popular racing franchise.

Nintendo would later remove loot boxes almost three years after the game’s launch, replacing them with an in-game shop.

The lack of new content could be the death knell for the mobile game, whose popularity has plummeted. Mario Kart Tour is at number 229 on the list of highest grossing mobile games, according to mobile data analysis firm Sensor Tower. The ranking is dominated by the likes of Roblox, Coin Master and Candy Crush Saga.

Nintendo previously added the London course from Mario Kart Tour to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (pictured)
Nintendo

If it were to shut down, it wouldn’t be the first Nintendo mobile game to suffer that fate.

The Japanese gaming giant has already axed titles such as Dragalia Lost, Miitomo and Dr. Mario World. Nintendo ostensibly scaled down its mobile gaming ambitions in 2020 to focus on its smash hit Switch console.

Speaking of which, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Switch could also be hurtling toward the finish line. The mainline game’s Booster Course Pass, which offers subscribers and paying players new courses in instalments, is due to conclude at the end of the year. As part of the launch, Nintendo has been adding courses from Mario Kart Tour to the console game.

With rumours of a Switch successor doing the rounds, perhaps Nintendo will finally give players a new Mario Kart console game to go with the new hardware. It has been nine years since the title was released on the Wii U, so a new entry is surely on the horizon.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in