Nintendo to shut down Mario Kart Tour after seven years

Nintendo has announced that its mobile racing game Mario Kart Tour will shut down this September after seven years in service.

In a notice shared on social media, the company confirmed that the iOS and Android title will go offline on September 29 at 11 pm PT. Originally released in September 2019, Mario Kart Tour is one of the few Nintendo mobile games that has remained active until now.

Mario Kart Tour to go offline this September as Nintendo ends support

"We sincerely thank the many players who have loved and supported the game since service began so long ago," Nintendo wrote in a blog post. "Thank you for playing Mario Kart Tour."

Nintendo has been steadily winding down its mobile game lineup, and Mario Kart Tour is the latest title to be discontinued. While many of its smartphone games had shorter lifespans, Mario Kart Tour remained active for several years, contributed tracks to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Switch Booster Course Pass, and was, at least initially, a major revenue generator.

Its early success was overshadowed by criticism of its gacha-style system, which required players to rely on randomised draws to obtain new drivers and karts. In response to widespread backlash, Nintendo overhauled the game in 2022, replacing the mechanic with a conventional in-game shop and introducing a subscription-based model.

Following the shutdown announcement, Nintendo has stopped selling the game's premium currency and disabled automatic renewals for the Gold Pass subscription. Existing players will continue to receive Gold Pass benefits free of charge until the game's servers are taken offline.

Unlike Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, however, Mario Kart Tour will not receive an offline version, meaning the game will become completely inaccessible once its online services end.

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