Mario Kart Tour gets its first original track

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Merry Mountain arrives in the Winter update

Mario Kart Tour
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Mario Kart Tour just got a brand new track, and it marks the first entirely original track to debut for the mobile game.

Just below, you can see footage of a user playing the new Merry Mountain track, which was just released earlier today for Mario Kart Tour on Android and iOS. As you might have guessed from the name, it's a Christmas-themed track full of presents and candy canes dotting the area surrounding the race course.

Previously, Mario Kart Tour has featured a variety of tracks from previous games in the Mario Kart franchise. We've seen tracks from throughout the history of the storied Nintendo franchise, from Super Mario Kart on the SNES, all the way to Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS.

If it wasn't a track from a previous game though, Mario Kart Tour's other tracks were all based on real-world locations. There's the London Loop for example, or the Paris Promenade, all based on cities dotted around the world, so players could race through iconic locations.

Now though, Merry Mountain marks a big departure for Mario Kart Tour. It's been well over six years since Mario Kart 8 first launched in 2014 on the Wii U, and it's been well over three years since the game was re-released for the Nintendo Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in 2017. There's speculation that Mario Kart Tour could be used to tease the future of the Mario Kart series, in which case original tracks like Merry Mountain might give us clues as to what to expect from the next instalment in Nintendo's long-running racing series.

That's not to say support isn't still going strong for Mario Kart Tour, though. Earlier this year, Nintendo introduced both online and local multiplayer for the mobile game, and Donkey Kong Country-themed races were introduced slightly later in May 2020.

To check out behind the scenes pictures from Nintendo's next venture using the Mario Kart series, head over to our report on the Super Nintendo World theme park in Japan.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.