Mario Kart Tour‘s multiplayer mode is finally rolling out to everyone — and you don’t need to pay up to play it.
The popular Nintendo kart-racing game debuted its first multiplayer beta test in late 2019. However, only players who subscribed to the game’s $4.99 a month Gold Pass could play it. A public beta process took place in January.
Multiplayer mode has always been a massively important part of the Mario Kart franchise. The original 1992 SNES game Super Mario Kart offered two-player multiplayer. 1996’s Mario Kart 64 for the N64 increased this number to four. Using LAN (local area network) play, 2003’s Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for the GameCube supported up to 16-player (!) multiplayer. 2005’s Mario Kart DS then introduced online multiplayer for WiFi for the first time.
Mario Kart Tour for mobile will support eight-player multiplayer modes, allowing you to play against “friends or others nearby,” as well as those “around the world.”
Photo: Nintendo
There are three multiplayer options, two of which are free to play. In one, players can compete in games with custom rules. In another, they’ll be able to challenge players around the world in races with two sets of rules which change daily. For those who are signed up to Mario Kart Tour‘s Gold Pass, you can compete in races with four sets of rules which change daily.
Standard Races will include 100 cc speeds with default item slots and 100 cc with two item slots. Gold Races for subscribers have 200 cc options as well.
Multiplayer mode will debut March 8th at 11 PM Eastern/8 PM Pacific.
Mario Kart Tour: Multiplayer and more
Mario Kart Tour debuted to massive download numbers in late September 2019. According to Apple it was the most downloaded App Store game of 2019.
To keep players tuning in, Nintendo has introduced a constantly changing carousel of new courses set all round the world. So far, these have taken players to Paris, London, New York, Tokyo and Vancouver, alongside seasonal courses based on Halloween, winter and Valentine’s Day.
But while those are great window dressing to keep Mario Kart Tour feeling fresh, everyone knows that multiplayer is the game’s real killer feature. If you thought Mario Kart Tour was popular already, expect it to get a big boost when multiplayer mode debuts at the end of this week.
What do you think of Mario Kart Tour? Let me know in the comments below. If you’ve not tried it yet, you can download Mario Kart Tour from the App Store and Google Play.
