One of Nintendo’s most anticipated games of 2019 isn’t coming to Switch. Mario Kart Tour — which was announced for iOS and Android over a year ago — is the company’s next mobile game, and though it still doesn’t have a release date, Nintendo opened signups for a closed beta on Android devices this week.
If you want to have a chance to play mobile Mario Kart before anyone else, you need to head to the Mario Kart Tour website and scan the QR code with an Android device. Once you have scanned the code, you will be redirected to the same page on your mobile browser. From there, click the “See details here!” button, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, check the necessary boxes, and click the “Apply with Nintendo Account” button.
The application will be open from April 23rd through May 7th at 7:59 p.m. PT. The beta test is then scheduled to begin on May 22nd, and will end on June 4th (though Nintendo notes that these dates might change without prior notice). In order to run the beta test, you’ll need to be on a device with Android 4.4 or later with at least 1.5GB of RAM. Also, any progress you make in the beta will not be transferred over to the final game.
The checkered flag has been raised and the finish line is near. A new mobile application is now in development: Mario Kart Tour! #MarioKartTour Releasing in the fiscal year ending in March 2019. pic.twitter.com/8GIyR7ZM4z
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 1, 2018
We still have no idea what Mario Kart Tour looks like or how it will play, but we do know that it will be a free-to-play game with in-app purchases (like Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp before it). The game will launch on iOS and Android this summer (presumably after the beta test ends on June 4th).
