The game features biweekly, downloadable themed tours with different cups, each of which has three courses and a bonus challenge.

Mario Kart Tour was announced in January 2018 and was released on September 25, 2019, on Apple's App Store, and Google Play.

Unlike previous installments in the series, much of the driving (notably acceleration, jump boosts) is performed automatically.

In a tour, players can compete in twelve to eighteen cups and collect drivers, karts and gliders which represent the corresponding cities or themes.

A percentage for the rank will increase when a player wins in a multiplayer race, but will decrease or remain unchanged during a loss.

[14] On September 2, 2022, Nintendo announced that the game's most controversial piece, the "gacha" mechanic with the ruby spotlight pipe would be removed and replaced with a normal shop that would not only include any new tours' brand new characters, gliders, and karts; but bring back old ones that players missed out on in previous tours.

[15] In January 2018, Nintendo announced a mobile version of the Mario Kart series for iOS and Android.

[16][17] Nintendo announced in April 2019 that they would be holding a closed beta for the game, exclusively for Android users, which took place from late May to early June.

[19][20] As of September 26, a day after Mario Kart Tour's release, there had been over ten million downloads of the game.

Another game published by Nintendo on February 2, 2017, Fire Emblem Heroes, placed #17 on the top iPhone revenue app during its debut.

[25] While critics praised the graphics and simple controls, they criticized Mario Kart Tour's gacha element, as well as its monthly $4.99 Gold Pass feature, which is required to use the game's 200cc feature, to get more items and in-game achievements, the constant need for a stable internet connection, and the only way to unlock things like karts and gold badges in the game requires money.

[38] Many journalists noted that the monthly charge for the subscription service was the same as that of Apple Arcade, which launched a few days prior to the release of Mario Kart Tour, claiming that the former provides subscribers with more content for the same price and thus, is a better value.

[49] On May 17, 2023, a young boy assisted by his father filed a lawsuit against Nintendo for alleging one of Mario Kart Tour's previously implemented gacha mechanisms, or lootboxes, named 'Spotlight Pipes', "capitalized on and encouraged addictive behaviors akin to gambling," and called for all minors in the United States who were involved in purchasing in such lootboxes would receive a refund, after the young boy reportedly spent $170 in Mario Kart Tour microtransactions using his father's credit card.

The suit also alleges that Nintendo intentionally made the game more difficult to progress without purchasing such microtransactions and that it "tricked players" into doing so.