The retreat from mobile games continues as Mario Kart Tour and Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis will be taken offline later this year

Nintendo has announced that Mario Kart Tour will shut down on September 29, 2026, ending the mobile racing game’s seven-year run. The free-to-play title, which launched in September 2019, became one of Nintendo’s most successful mobile ventures, generating over $220 million in revenue during its first three years with more than 204 million downloads.

The shutdown marks another chapter in the ongoing retreat from mobile gaming by major publishers. The announcement comes alongside Square Enix’s decision to close Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis around the same time, signaling a broader industry shift away from ambitious mobile adaptations of established gaming franchises. Other publishers like Sony have also significantly downsized their mobile operations, and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile was similarly shut down.

As part of the wind-down, Nintendo has already halted the sale of Rubies—the game’s premium in-game currency—and stopped automatic renewals for the Gold Pass subscription. Players can continue spending their Rubies until the service ends.

Unlike Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, which received a paid offline version after its 2024 closure, Nintendo has stated that no offline version of Mario Kart Tour is planned. This decision means players will permanently lose access to the game once servers go offline, highlighting the preservation challenges facing live-service games dependent on server infrastructure.

The retreat from mobile games continues as Mario Kart Tour and Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis will be taken offline later this year

Sources