Mario Kart Tour for Mobile Will be “Free to Start”, Says Developer

Last week, Nintendo confirmed via Twitter that a mobile version of its popular arcade game Mario Kart is coming by March 2019, most likely on both iOS and Android like its existing mobile titles. Today, CEO of DeNA, the company developing the upcoming ‘Mario Kart Tour’ for mobile in collaboration with Nintendo, has revealed that the game will be “free to start” when released.

DeNA CEO said “Mario Kart Tour,” a Nintendo-DeNA smartphone game planned for FY18, will be free-to-start.

— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj)

February 8, 2018

Much like every Nintendo announcement, there’s a lot of speculation until they reveal more details. As of now we don’t know whether it will be a full Mario Kart experience like the console titles or an auto driving game where you manage other things.

It must be noted that Super Mario Run wasn’t as successful as the company’s Fire Emblem Heroes. Also, the “pay once to unlock everything” model did not prove to be as lucrative.

As for the “free-to-start” comment from DeNA, it could either mean a full on free to play title, or it could simply be something that follows the Super Mario Run model. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.