Players demand refunds as Nintendo axes beloved Mario game

Gamers feel like they've been hit by a blue shell at the midpoint of 2026, with Microsoft and Sony duking it out to see who can anger the community more. In a serious case of "hold my beer," the two rivals have been grabbing all kinds of scandalous headlines as they're accused of decimating the industry.

First, Sony was in everyone's bad books when it confirmed it would stop the production of physical game discs in January 2028, before Microsoft finally confirmed those long-rumored layoffs.

While Sony has defended its move by claiming 85% of all its software sales are now digital, the idea of paying for a game and getting an empty box has been an issue of rage as it's become more commonplace over the last few years.

As for Microsoft, new Xbox boss Asha Sharma has been branded some sort of gaming Grim Reaper as the company announced 4,800 layoffs and studios behind the likes of Hellblade and State of Decay "have entered terms to join new ownership."

Mario Kart Tour is running out of road

Nintendo has largely scraped through unscathed, and with rumors that the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake could cost just $60, the Red Team could clear up as the console wars are in danger of engulfing Sony and Microsoft.

It's not all plain sailing, and as bad things tend to come in threes, Nintendo has confirmed a beloved Mario game is about to be shown the door.

After launching in 2019, Mario Kart Tour became an overnight hit as a mobile version of the long-running Mario Kart series.

In a criminally short message on the Nintendo website, the company referred to Mario Kart Tour's end of service and wrote: "Service for the Mario Kart Tour game for smart devices will come to an end as of 11:00 p.m. Pacific on September 29.

Obviously the repeated cycle would not’ve been intended to go on forever, so I certainly saw this coming somewhere down the line. But surely Mario Kart Tour won’t be the only mobile game the series ever has, there’s more real world cities we would like to see someday.

— CuriousUser (Back Up) (@CuriousUserX90_) July 8, 2026

"We sincerely thank the many players who have loved and supported the game since service began so long ago. Thank you for playing Mario Kart Tour."

As you need an internet connection to play Mario Kart Tour, and as no offline version is planned, September 29 really will be our last Rainbow Road race in this iteration of the franchise.

Mario Kart Tour players demand refunds

There are articles explaining that the game's in-world currency of rubies has been removed from sale, while automatic subscriptions for the Gold Pass have been stopped. There's a small silver lining that all players will get the August and September Gold Pass content for free.

Nintendo has abandoned its brief dalliance with a move into the mobile market, which was undoubtedly hindered by Mario Kart Tour's own issues.

Even though it'll likely be fondly remembered once it's gone, Mario Kart Tour was originally slammed for accusations of 'predatory' gacha gambling. That's continued to dog the little racer, and as well as its 200cc speed mode being locked behind a Gold Pass paywall, countries like Brazil have slapped the game with an 18+ rating due to government crackdowns on loot box and gambling mechanics.

Mario Kart Tour's loss will still be felt, with one fan writing: "Doing this right after Sony’s announcement is crazy the room was not read."

Another angry gamer added: "Offline version with all my stuff... I have paid for this!!!!!!!!!!! WTF."

A third lamented: "We have given you so much money. You have to give us something back. This ain't right."

Also asking for something in return from the gaming giant, a fourth concluded: "Kinda pathetic when a game makes $200 million on in-app purchases and you guys can't find a way to make it offline so fans can keep playing? You did it with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp."

Here's hoping this is the last of the bad gaming news for a while, but something tells us it won't be.