KartRider: Drift is Nexon’s take on Mario Kart using Unreal Engine 4 on PC

Nexon has just announced KartRider: Drift during the Xbox’s X019 conference in London. This is a cartoon racing game that will make fans of Mario Kart happy, and has the potential to be the game that Mario Kart Tour tried to be, but microtransactions got in the way.

KartRider: Drift is in development for PC and Xbox One, being powered by Unreal Engine 4. It's a cross-platform multiplayer kart racer and is said to feature “no pay walls,” with no items or RNG in sight. It offers local multiplayer in split screen, and online multiplayer. Best of all, it's entirely free to play.

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KartRider isn't a new series; the first game, Crazy Racing Kartrider, was released in 2004 and the series remains very strong in Asia, with over 300 million players. However, it never made a big name outside of Korea and China. With KartRider: Drift, Nexon is trying to deliver a top-quality UE4 kart rider game for a global audience.

In KartRider: Drift, you can customize your kart and character, and skill is what matters in the races. The Speed Mode is said to feature precise controls and an advanced drifting system.

KartRider: Drift is an ever-evolving game, or a live service game as they are called nowadays. This means that it is an online multiplayer game that is constantly getting new content. You can expect new karts, characters, skins, circuits and various customization options. Plus, regular seasonal content will keep the game fresh.

The first closed beta for PC and Xbox One is running from December 5 until December 8. You can sign up at the official website and choose your platform of choice: Steam, Xbox, or Nexon launcher.

While Nexon recently canceled Dragon Hound, KartRider: Drift seems like the kind of fun game with high production values that could appeal to a vast audience, and remain fun for several years.