What May Be Mario Kart's Rarest Track Is Available to Play Now for a Limited Time — as Part of Smartphone Spin-Off Mario Kart Tour

A small spot of Mario Kart trivia for you — what is the 1 Nintendo way you can't play anyplace but the series' smartphone spin-off Mario Kart Tour?

The reply is Piranha Plant Pipeline, a fun, waterslide-esque level acceptable wrong the bowels of assorted Mushroom Kingdom warp pipes that for immoderate crushed ne'er got ported implicit into Switch introduction Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Mario Kart Tour's lengthy way roster is simply a premix of classical tracks and caller courses that besides arrived successful Mario Kart 8 Deluxe arsenic portion of the game's Booster Course Pass. These included Squeaky Clean Sprint, a level partially acceptable successful a toilet, and Sky-High Sundae, which was instantly brought backmost for Switch 2 arsenic portion of Mario Kart World's open-world map.

For chartless reasons, Piranha Plant Pipeline ne'er made the leap to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and due to the fact that of Mario Kart Tour's rotating way enactment it is lone seldom playable. Indeed, Nintendo celebrated the track's instrumentality with a station contiguous connected X/Twitter, portion Nintendo Life notes that the course's reappearance present marks lone the 3rd clip it has ever been playable, and its archetypal quality this year.

"Well hullo Piranha Plant Pipeline," 1 instrumentality wrote. "Missed you truthful much."

If you privation to effort retired what whitethorn beryllium Mario Kart's rarest track, you person until 22nd July to bash it, earlier Piranha Plant Pipeline goes backmost successful Nintendo's contented vault.

Could we ever spot it instrumentality successful different Mario Kart game? Much volition apt beryllium connected Nintendo's plans to support Mario Kart World caller implicit the coming years — thing the institution is presently keeping schtum on. Fans powerfully fishy that Nintendo volition astatine immoderate constituent item a post-launch contented roadmap for its hugely-popular Switch 2 motorboat title, though Nintendo is yet to accidental thing of however it whitethorn support its racer refreshed implicit the coming generation.

The Pipe Tour starts contiguous and it features Piranha Plant Pipeline! #MarioKartTour pic.twitter.com/6X76J0X7w0

Indeed, Nintendo's lone large update to Mario Kart World truthful acold has been its unpopular determination to further bounds the chances of racing connected the franchise's modular looped courses, alternatively than alleged open-world 'intermission tracks'.

While Nintendo wrapped up launching caller contented for Mario Kart Tour backmost successful 2023, the crippled remains playable connected iPhone and Android devices. Originally launched successful 2019, Mario Kart Tour made millions for Nintendo, though its gacha-style strategy for unlocking characters and karts was heavy criticised, and was aboriginal removed.

Nintendo smartphone has a mixed way grounds connected keeping its smartphone games online, with respective notable titles specified arsenic Miitomo, Draglia Lost and Dr. Mario World nary longer playable. The archetypal free-to-play mentation of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp was shutdown, meanwhile, but replaced with a pricey paid-for alternative. Should Mario Kart Tour ever get retired, Piranha Plant Pipeline volition vanish everlastingly with it — truthful possibly springiness it a spell now, portion you can.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social