Nintendo confirms removal of Mario Kart Tour’s gacha system

The gacha system in Mario Kart Tour will be removed this month.

Nintendo confirmed that new content and updates will be arriving in the mobile racing game this September. And one of those is the removal of the game’s gacha system, where players spend in-game currency to buy available items in the game. Mario Kart Tour uses Rubies as its in-game currency, which can be farmed in the game or bought with real money. These Rubies are being used to buy Pipes that contain the random drivers players can use, but buying 100 Pipes guarantees a limited-time driver.

It was revealed that the “Spotlight Shop” will be replacing the gacha system, where players may now be able to directly buy drivers, karts, and gliders using Rubies. A new battle mode will also be coming to the game.

“Here’s a peek at #MarioKartTour’s update coming late September,” Nintendo said in a tweet. “Battle mode will be added, along with a Spotlight Shop, where you can exchange rubies for drivers, karts, and gliders! Also, pipes you can fire by using rubies will be removed. See the notification for details.”

Mario Kart Tour was released in 2019 for both Android and iOS platforms. The game features the characters from the Mario franchise as playable racers, showcasing various biweekly themed tours and cups where players can participate.

“Mario and friends go global in this new Mario Kart as they race around courses inspired by real-world cities in addition to classic Mario Kart courses,” the game’s official description reads. “These destinations will be featured in tours that rotate every two weeks! In addition to courses based on iconic locales, some of your favorite Mario Kart characters will get variations that incorporate the local flavor of cities featured in the game!”