Mario Kart Tour is shutting down later this year

While Nintendo is highly protective of its IPs, the console maker did dip its toes into the mobile gaming space for a while, releasing a variety of titles based on Mario; Animal Crossing; Fire Emblem and others. Some succeeded, while others did not. Though the Switch maker is unlikely to leave the mobile space entirely (especially when it comes to Pokemon), one of its biggest successes will soon be shut down forever – with Mario Kart Tour going offline in September.

Making the official announcement, Nintendo took to their support page to reveal that Mario Kart Tour will soon be going offline, writing: “Service for the Mario Kart Tour game for smart devices will come to an end as of 11:00 p.m. Pacific on September 29. We sincerely thank the many players who have loved and supported the game since service began so long ago. Thank you for playing Mario Kart Tour.”

Full details on the shut down can be found HERE, including how this will impact the sale of Tour’s in-game items.

Mario Kart Tour is an interesting title. Released during the drought following Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the game was barebones in many ways, featuring limited controls while not even allowing for landscape play.

Over the years however, the game changed quite a bit, with Nintendo adding tons of new tracks, characters, skins and more – all the while getting rid of some of its more predatory practices. A good number of original tracks made for Tour would even wind up being added to MK8 Deluxe as part of the game’s Booster Course Pass.

All this is to say it is unfortunate to see Mario Kart Tour being fully shut down. The game was already in maintenance mode, with no new content being added as of 2023, but shutting down access forever is another matter entirely.

KitGuru says: What did you think of Mario Kart Tour? Did it satiate your MK needs on mobile? What did Tour do better than other mainline entries? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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