Slightly little bit of Mario Kart trivia for you — what’s the one Nintendo monitor you’ll be able to’t play wherever however the collection’ smartphone spin-off Mario Kart Tour?
The reply is Piranha Plant Pipeline, a enjoyable, waterslide-esque stage set throughout the bowels of assorted Mushroom Kingdom warp pipes that for some purpose by no means obtained ported over into Change entry Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Mario Kart Tour’s prolonged monitor roster is a mixture of basic tracks and new programs that additionally arrived in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a part of the sport’s Booster Course Go. These included Squeaky Clear Dash, a stage partially set in a rest room, and Sky-Excessive Sundae, which was instantly introduced again for Change 2 as a part of Mario Kart World’s open-world map.
For unknown causes, Piranha Plant Pipeline by no means made the leap to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and due to Mario Kart Tour’s rotating monitor choice it is just hardly ever playable. Certainly, Nintendo celebrated the monitor’s return with a submit at this time on X/Twitter, whereas Nintendo Life notes that the course’s reappearance now marks solely the third time it has ever been playable, and its first look this 12 months.
“Nicely whats up Piranha Plant Pipeline,” one fan wrote. “Missed you a lot.”
If you wish to check out what could also be Mario Kart’s rarest monitor, you might have till twenty second July to do it, earlier than Piranha Plant Pipeline goes again in Nintendo’s content material vault.
Might we ever see it return in one other Mario Kart recreation? A lot will probably rely upon Nintendo’s plans to maintain Mario Kart World contemporary over the approaching years — one thing the corporate is presently maintaining schtum on. Followers strongly suspect that Nintendo will in some unspecified time in the future element a post-launch content material roadmap for its hugely-popular Change 2 launch title, although Nintendo is but to say something of the way it could hold its racer refreshed over the approaching technology.
The Pipe Tour begins at this time and it options Piranha Plant Pipeline! #MarioKartTour pic.twitter.com/6X76J0X7w0
— Mario Kart Tour (@mariokarttourEN) July 9, 2025
Certainly, Nintendo’s solely main replace to Mario Kart World thus far has been its unpopular transfer to additional restrict the possibilities of racing on the franchise’s commonplace looped programs, moderately than so-called open-world ‘intermission tracks’.
Whereas Nintendo wrapped up launching new content material for Mario Kart Tour again in 2023, the sport stays playable on iPhone and Android gadgets. Initially launched in 2019, Mario Kart Tour made thousands and thousands for Nintendo, although its gacha-style system for unlocking characters and karts was closely criticised, and was later eliminated.
Nintendo smartphone has a combined monitor file on maintaining its smartphone video games on-line, with a number of notable titles similar to Miitomo, Draglia Misplaced and Dr. Mario World not playable. The unique free-to-play model of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp was shutdown, in the meantime, however changed with an expensive paid-for various. Ought to Mario Kart Tour ever get retired, Piranha Plant Pipeline will disappear without end with it — so possibly give it a go now, when you can.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You’ll be able to attain Tom at [email protected] or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social