Battle mode is a staple of Mario Kart. It’s a cathartic way of getting your own back on someone who snatched the lead from you with a strategically-timed Blue Shell attack.
However, Battle Mode has been missing in the Mario Kart Tour mobile spin-off – but not for much longer.
Battle Mode coming to Mario Kart Tour this month
In a Twitter update, Nintendo announced that Battle Mode will be added to Mario Kart Tour in a late September update.
Available in single-player and multiplayer modes, it will be a traditional Battle Mode where players try to pop balloons on their opponent’s kart.
Gacha elements removed
As well as adding a Battle Mode, Nintendo is also removing Mario Kart Tour’s much-maligned gacha elements. Like loot boxes, the gacha pipe enticed players to spend real-world money on rubies to earn random in-game items such as drivers, karts, and gliders.
Replacing the gacha pipe will be a new “Spotlight Shop” where rubies can be spent on new drivers, karts, and gliders, removing the randomised element. Items that have appeared in the past will also be added to the Spotlight Shop. The Spotlight Shop will be added to Mario Kart Tour on 4 October as part of a game update.
Many of Mario Kart Tour’s circuits such as New York Minute, Sydney Sprint, and Tokyo Blur were added to the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass DLC. A new Sky-High Sundae circuit debuted in Wave 2 and will be added to Mario Kart Tour at a later date, possibly in the October update.