Crazyracing Kartrider

The game offers a variety of game modes, primarily based around collecting items or requiring the player to drift to gain boost items. ==Development and release==

The initial South Korean service started on June 1, 2004. Localized releases launched in Mainland 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. The open beta began on October 2 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 was shut down on January 31, 2023, followed by the South Korean service on March 31. This leaves the Chinese localization the only in operation. ==Other versions==

Nexon America released a mobile version of KartRider for the Apple App Store under the name KartRider Rush on March 11, 2011. This version closed later on as well. A KartRider client released for Facebook called KartRider Dash was shut down in April 2014. In May 2020, KartRider Rush+ was released on Google Play and the iOS App Store, the latter already having provided a Chinese version the year before in 2019. KartRider: Drift Nexon released an updated cross-platform version under the name KartRider: Drift. Two closed beta tests were held on December 6-9, 2019 and June 4-10, 2020 for the Windows and Xbox One platforms. The third closed beta test was held between December 9 and 15, 2021, adding PlayStation 4 support. The open beta test (referred to as "Global Racing Test") began on September 1, 2022 and ended on September 6, adding Android and iOS support. The game was released on January 11, 2023 on Windows, Android, and iOS, and later for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 8. After repeated changes of direction and not meeting player expectations, global and cross-platform support ended on February 27, 2025. The remaining service for the PC platform in Korea and Taiwan was shut down on October 16, 2025. Nexon had developer Nitro Studio file bankruptcy on October 21, 2025, with its employees either laid off or moved to Nexon's other projects. The developer's net debt at the time of bankruptcy was , of which was loaned from Nexon Korea. The game is announced to be replaced by a "KartRider Classic" service. ==Reception==

KartRider is widely recognized as a game inspired by the Mario Kart series. Although it was initially criticized for being a rip-off of Mario Kart, Nintendo stated that they want to maintain a constructive relationship with Nexon, just like with other game development companies in Korea. By 2007, about 25% of South Koreans had played the game at least once. As of 2020, the game has reached a total of over 380 million 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. As of 2021, it had grossed over worldwide. Termination of the original South Korean service in 2023 generated noticeable backlash from its players, who saw it as an attempt to forcefully migrate them to the KartRider: Drift client, which previously failed to impress and ultimately closed two years later. == References ==