Mario Kart Tour multiplayer will be tested in December
DeNA confirms beta test for “real-time” multiplayer mode
Mario Kart Tour will hold a beta test for “real-time” multiplayer in December, the game’s developer has announced.
The beta test will be limited to subscribers of the game’s Gold Pass, DeNA confirmed on Thursday.
[UPDATE: DeNA and Nintendo have launched a beta test for Mario Kart Tour multiplayer.]
The Gold Pass service costs $4.99 / £4.99 per month and includes benefits such as unlockable Gold Gifts (such as Metal Mario or a golden kart), plus access to Gold Challenges and 200cc racers.
At launch, Mario Kart Tour is focused on single-player races and bonus challenges, with competition encouraged via the game’s online leaderboards.
However, the game’s UI has stated from launch that multiplayer would be “available in a future version update.”
“Going forward,” Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said during the company’s first half financial results briefing on Friday, “we will encourage users to continue playing Mario Kart Tour through a combination of feature expansions and operational management, with the goal of making this an evergreen title for smart device owners.”
Mario Kart Tour is estimated to have been downloaded 123.9 million times across iOS and Android devices since its worldwide release on September 25.
The title recorded the second highest launch month downloads of any mobile game in history, according to data from Sensor Tower.
In comparison, record holder Pokémon Go achieved 163 million downloads in its first 30 days, despite receiving a staggered worldwide rollout.
Mario Kart Tour is by far Nintendo’s most successful mobile title in terms of first month installs, registering over 5.5 times as many downloads as Super Mario Run did during its launch month.
