When is the Mario Kart Tour multiplayer mode available?

The lack of a Mario Kart Tour multiplayer mode at launch is one of those baffling situations. A game focused in racing around with friends launched without a multiplayer mode, pitting you against bots instead. Oddly enough, these bots had names like those that a human usually gives a character, something that seemed intentional, like Nintendo wanted you to think you were racing against real players. In fact, it tricked many players for weeks or even months, until they discovered or were told that their winning streak wasn't as fantastic as it looked like. After nearly six months, one keeps wondering the following question: when is the Mario Kart Tour multiplayer mode available? Will you be able to race against your friends soon enough?

When is the Mario Kart Tour multiplayer mode available? Can I race with friends?

After a multiplayer beta that was limited to players who have purchased the gold pass subscription, the Mario Kart Tour multiplayer release date was finally revealed. Nintendo is going to roll out this mode for everyone on March 9, 2020.

Is the wait for the multiplayer mode update going to be worth it? It's highly likely, because it should help the game reach its full potential. The update is going to release on Android and iOS, with real-time multiplayer supporting up to eight players in online co-op and an ever-changing set of rules. You can race players near your location if your phone has the location feature enabled.

You can create lobbies to meet your friends, and the usual matchmaking system will be in place to race against others. Hopefully it will offer balanced races and make us forget about bots altogether.

The only limitation to this multiplayer mode update is that only players who purchase the gold pass costing $4.99 per month will be able to access the faster races. This is the same limit that players stumble upon on single player, so you surely know what it is by now.