The New Year's Tour kicked off last night in Mario Kart Tour, adding a bunch of new content to the mobile kart racer. The big news, however, is that Lakitu – the longtime Mario Kart "referee" – is now a playable character.
The New Year's Tour is pulling double duty as both the final Tour of 2020 and the first of 2021. As of today, you can find Lakitu, Pauline (Party Attire), and Toad (Party Attire) ready to hit the tracks and leave the competition in their dust. There's also the new Party-Wing kart, a colorful vehicle that fits right in with the New Year's celebrations.
"Are you ready for the new year? It's time for the New Year's 2021 Tour!" said Nintendo. "Start the tour off with some seven-colored fun on RMX Rainbow Road 2! Let's join the drivers and welcome the new year in Mario Kart Tour." The new take on Rainbow Road looks like a challenging – but fun – twist on the classic course. You can see a bit of it in the clip below:
Mario Kart Tour continues to put up impressive numbers, thanks to constant updates that bring new content and quality of life changes. It's only real competition is KartRider Rush+ but – despite being a fantastic game – it doesn't quite have the same pull as Mario. It'll be interesting to see how Mario Kart Tour continues to evolve as we head into 2021.
The New Year's Tour is now live in Mario Kart Tour.