It's the end of an era for Mario Kart as Nintendo shuts down another mobile game

The racing game was one of few remaining titles from Nintendo's 2010s push into smartphones I'm confused: Is Nintendo back in on mobile gaming, or all out? Barely more than a month ago, the company released smartphone game Pictonico!, its third new mobile game in the space of a year, suggesting it was once again dipping its toes in a market that it had rushed into during the dark Wii U days and then quietly dropped after the Switch took off. But now Nintendo is shutting down one of the biggest successes of that foray into mobile in the 2010s: 2019's Mario Kart Tour. In a statement released Tuesday, Nintendo said it would end service for the online kart racing game on Sep. 29. There was no indication that Nintendo would replace the game with a paid version without in-app purchases, as it did in 2024 with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. It's already no longer possible to buy rubies, Mario Kart Tour's in-game currency. You can still use any rubies you have to buy items within the game until the service ends. Automatic renewals for the game's Gold Pass subscription have been turned off. Active Gold Pass subscribers can enjoy the subscription's benefits for free until end of service; ever