Mario Kart Tour will shut down permanently on September 30

Mario Kart Tour is nearing its end. Nintendo has announced that the seven-year-old mobile game will be permanently shut down on September 30, with no plans to offer an offline version for longtime fans.

Unlike Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, which returned as an offline release after its online service ended, Mario Kart Tour will completely disappear once its servers are offline.

Hence, players will no longer be able to access the game after the shutdown. Nintendo has already begun winding down operations, including ending sales of the game’s premium currency and deactivating new subscriptions and auto-renewals for the Gold Pass.

Current Gold Pass subscribers will not lose access immediately. Nintendo states that they will continue to enjoy most benefits, excluding ongoing subscription rewards, at no extra charge until the game shuts down.

Starting August 5, these Gold Pass perks will also be available to all players for free, providing the community with a final opportunity to experience the additional content.

This announcement isn’t unexpected, as Mario Kart Tour has largely been in maintenance mode since late 2023, with Nintendo halting the addition of new drivers, karts, gliders, courses, and features.

Although still playable, the game’s last regular updates occurred nearly two years ago. Released in 2019, Mario Kart Tour adapted Nintendo’s long-standing kart racer for smartphones, featuring touch controls, seasonal events, and a gacha-style system for unlocking characters and vehicles.

It became one of the company’s major mobile launches, but support tapered off as Nintendo redirected its attention. That doesn’t mean Nintendo is abandoning mobile gaming entirely.

Recently, the company launched Pictonico!, a WarioWare-style game that uses photos from your camera roll. Meanwhile, Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes continue to be supported years after their initial release.

For Mario Kart Tour players, however, the finish line is approaching. With no offline version planned, the September shutdown will mark the end of one of Nintendo’s longest-running mobile titles. Once the servers are shut down, there’s no way to return to the game.