Nintendo has officially confirmed that Mario Kart Tour will permanently shut down later this year, bringing an end to one of the company’s longest-running mobile games. After nearly six years on iOS and Android, players only have a few months left to enjoy the racer before its online services are switched off for good.
Originally released in 2019, Mario Kart Tour brought the iconic kart racing franchise to mobile devices with touchscreen controls, rotating seasonal Tours, collectible drivers, karts, gliders, and a mix of real-world city tracks alongside classic Mario Kart circuits. While major content updates stopped some time ago, the game remained fully playable online until now.
Shutdown Date Confirmed
Nintendo has announced that Mario Kart Tour will permanently end service on September 29 at 11:00 PM PT (September 30 in many other regions). Once the servers are taken offline, the game will no longer be playable.
To prepare for the closure, Nintendo has already started phasing out several premium features.
Premium Services Are Ending
The following changes are already in effect or will roll out before the shutdown:
- Ruby sales have ended immediately.
- Existing Rubies can still be spent until the servers close.
- New Gold Pass subscriptions and automatic renewals have been discontinued.
- Players with an active Gold Pass will continue receiving most benefits at no additional cost until the game shuts down.
- Starting with the Vacation Tour on August 4, players without a Gold Pass will also receive most Gold Pass benefits for free.
Nintendo has also confirmed that players who purchased unused paid Rubies may request refunds after the game’s closure. More information regarding refunds and account handling will be shared closer to the shutdown date. Free Rubies and any paid Rubies that have already been spent will not be eligible for refunds.
No Offline Version Planned
Unlike Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, which later received an offline successor through Pocket Camp Complete, Nintendo has not announced any offline version or replacement for Mario Kart Tour.
That means once the servers go offline, there will be no official way to continue playing the game.
Another Live-Service Game Reaches the Finish Line
Mario Kart Tour has enjoyed a considerably longer lifespan than many mobile live-service games, surviving nearly six years after its launch. Even so, its closure highlights a growing trend across the gaming industry, where online-only titles eventually disappear once server support ends.
For longtime players, the shutdown means saying goodbye to years of collected drivers, karts, gliders, achievements, and memories. And for anyone who has never experienced Nintendo’s mobile-exclusive racer, the finish line is now rapidly approaching.
