KartRider

''Crazyracing KartRider'' ( ko, 크레이지레이싱 카트라이더) is an online multiplayer racing game developed by Nexon Korea Corporation. It is part of the ''Crazy Arcade'' franchise. It earns revenue by selling virtual items within the in-game shop, including different types of vehicles and spraypaints. ''KartRider'' features fictitious fantasy vehicles and branded game models based on real-life cars, developed in collaboration with companies such as BMW Korea.

Gameplay

The game offers a variety of game modes, primarily based around item races using power-ups (comparable to ''Mario Kart''). Speed racing which requires the player to drift to gain boost items.

Development

The initial South Korean service started on June 1, 2004. Localized releases launched in China as ''PopKart'' () on March 18, 2006, and Taiwan on January 4, 2007.

A closed beta for an English release of KartRider began in America on May 1, 2007, and ended on May 31, 2007. The open beta began on October 2, 2007, and ended on March 19, 2008. All references to the game were subsequently removed from Nexon America's website without further statement.

Later localizations, which are no longer serviced, were released in Thailand, Vietnam (as ''BoomSpeed''), Russia, Indonesia, and Japan.

The Taiwan release shuts down on January 31, 2023. The South Korean service is planned to end at a later undisclosed date, despite noticeable backlash of players. This closure would leave the Chinese localization the only in operation.

Other versions

On March 11, 2011, Nexon America released a mobile version of KartRider for the Apple App Store under the name ''KartRider Rush''. This version closed later on as well. A KartRider client released for Facebook called ''KartRider Dash'' has been shut down as of April 15, 2014.

On May 12, 2020, ''KartRider Rush+'' was released on Google Play and the iOS App Store, the latter already having provided a Chinese version the year before.

Reception

By 2007, about 25% of South Koreans had played the game at least once. , the game has reached a total of over registered users worldwide on the PC platform, including over half of the Korean population and over 45% of the Taiwanese population.

The mobile version ''KartRider Rush+'' surpassed 10 million downloads globally after its first two weeks of release. It has also topped the Google Play ranking of South Korea.

By 2020, the franchise had grossed over worldwide in lifetime revenue. , it has grossed over worldwide.

''KartRider: Drift''

On November 14, 2019, Nexon announced an updated cross-platform version under the name ''KartRider: Drift'' at Microsoft's X019 which will be released worldwide in 2022. This is the first time the franchise is released on console and have cross-platform capability.

A first closed beta test began on December 6, 2019, and ended on December 9, 2019. A second closed beta lasted from June 4, 2020, to June 10, 2020. After an extended period of development, a third closed beta test was held between December 9, 2021, and December 15, 2021. A fourth beta test was held in 2022. Another pre-release version is planned for 2023, except for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox platforms.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://kart.nexon.com

''KartRider: Drift'' website

2004 video games
Multiplayer online games
Kart racing video games
Racing video games
Video games developed in South Korea
Nexon games
Windows games
Windows-only games